What the 2009 Budget Means for Youth Services.
First posted at 15:53GMT on 01/05/09 by Nicola Marshall
Alistair Darling’s 2009 budget speech has come at a particularly volatile economic climate to “prepare Britain for the opportunities of the future”. Whilst the onus of debate and fiscal distribution lies in financial institutions, businesses and reinstating the labour market, Darling’s budget still seeks to “protect investment in schools, hospitals and other key public services.”
- A £20m Hardship Fund will provide “short term relief” for charities facing hardship in the current economic climate. According to Joe Levenson, director of policy for Children of England, “The new hardship fund is a good start and should provide welcome short- term relief at a time when pressure on the voluntary sector is especially great.”
- Unemployed young people will be offered 50,000 traineeships in the social care sector under a scheme called Care First. Young people who have been out of work for a year or more will be offered employment from subsidised social care providers.
- Grandparent’s roles in childcare will be subsidised this year; grandparents of a working age who take time out for childcare for more than twenty hours a week will be reinstated in their state pensions. Sam Smethers of Grandparents Plus describes this as a “victory for the principle that grandparents roles in childcare is recognised and should be illustrated in other government policies.”
- £260m has been put aside to help young people acquire skills and training for all unemployed 18- 24 year olds. Funding will be made available to engage young people in ‘socially useful’ activities and within job sectors in areas of high unemployment. According to the ONS, youth unemployment is at its highest since 1995.
- Last month’s miscalculation by the LSC led to a funding shortfall; schools and sixth forms are to receive £250m funds for student places, which will be resolved by creating 54,000 new student places. A further £400m will be allocated to schools and colleges to fund places for 16-17 year olds in the academic year 2010/11
- An extra £100 will be given to all disabled children through the governments’ trust fund scheme- where every child at birth and aged seven is given £250. Children with severe disabilities will be given £200. Christine Lenehan, Director of the Council for Disabled Children says the money will go far, particularly for those with profound impairments who are “surviving into adulthood in numbers we have never seen before.”
- £146m will be invested in teen community service programmes, whereby 16 – 19 year olds will engage in community activity as part of the Entry to Employment course. This is to complement new ministerial initiatives to integrate 50 hours of community service into the national curriculum by the time all students reach leaving age.