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Our experience in
general is largely based on work in Cardiff and the Vale of
Glamorgan. Even in these neighbouring local authorities there
is a difference in approach.
More generally
when I speak to colleagues in other YMCAs in Wales, it is clear
that there is a very different provision in each area and that
mapping the level of provision can be difficult.
It is clear that
youth services across Wales and in the region where we operate have
been severely cut in recent years. In Cardiff, the Council
has been forced to make sweeping cuts to its previous provision and
although a new service has been put in place (and providers have
been contracted to deliver this new service), the picture remains
unclear in the long term. There seems at present a lack of
coherence at local and national level of a longer term vision for
the provision of a Welsh youth work service.
Going back to the
Cardiff picture, the Youth Innovation Grants were launched last
year by the Council as a replacement to their existing provision.
The YMCA bid for and won 3 contracts in this programme (and
may well take more in the future). We are and remain committed to
providing youth services across the city, and even self fund a
weekly provision ourselves.
However the new
programme places constraints on providers like ourselves that
hamper service delivery. For example, the contracts are worth
a lot less than before, £18k per annum being the highest
award, with other areas offering only £12k per
annum.
An early emphasis
on ‘innovation’ also placed a greater burden on
providers, to deliver a new more ‘shiny’ service,
whilst the reality of all the feedback from young people is that
they cherished first and foremost a safe place to meet friends and
socialise.
Furthermore these
contracts are initially offered for 12 months, with an option of a
further year to providers. Following this, there is an
expectation, (though I am not sure if this is currently still the
working premise), that the service should become self sustaining.
Such short termism in terms of provision, places a further
strain on service providers, as we cannot commit resources in the
long term to such provision, as we remain unaware of their life
span within Council budgets.
The YMCA is able
to match fund provision in certain areas, and is always looking to
bring in more resources to help sustain youth and young
people’s services generally. In such instances, there
should, in our opinion, be more of an equal dialogue between
provider and local authority or central government regarding a more
long term strategic approach to funding youth work provision over
the next 5-10 years.
This short term
approach is also evident with the recent launch of the Youth
Quality Mark. In our opinion, this is an excellent
development that will be of benefit to the quality of youth work
being undertaken across Wales. The YMCA is keen to commit to
it and to achieve the award. However, the current provision
is only available for 18 months and there remains uncertainty as to
its long term future. We believe this should be prioritised
by the Government as a key development tool and funded
accordingly.
There is also now
a tendency to focus on hard outcomes for youth work. This is
understandable, however we should disregard the continuing need for
a traditional youth work model that is centre based and allows
young people to engage with projects on their own terms.
There should also
be a greater focus on engaging ethnic minorities and migrant
families in larger cities. This area of work has largely been
underrepresented in youth work and any new strategy should have a
stronger focus on this area.
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