15 March 2018
This week the Chancellor, Philip Hammond presented his first Spring Statement since the government decided to move to one major fiscal event in a year. The statement was light on new policy announcements, with the major tax and spending decisions being left to the Autumn Budget later this year.
| For workers 25 and over | £7.83 |
| 21 to 24 | £7.38 |
| 18 to 21 | £5.90 |
| 16 – 17 | £4.20 |
| Apprentice rate | £3.70 |
Whilst this may sound positive, growth continues to disappoint. Although the economy is working for some, it isn’t working for many. The social mobility of young people from the most disadvantaged areas is yet to improve and stats from our recent State of the Membership Report show that there has been a 41% reduction in universal spending on young people in England between 2014/15 and 2017/18. The impact of this has been felt acutely by young people and communities with the closure of 600 youth centres. Without a safe space to go and a trusted adult to talk to, young people who face multiple challenges. They are unable to get the support they need to successfully transition into adulthood and employment.
We need to focus on ensuring the outcomes of the Civil Society Strategy are properly resourced, so that our members and the wider youth sector have the funding that it needs to ensure that all young people are able to build bright futures. We also need to get certainty on Brexit funding and the implications of this on organisations that support young people. None of these issues have been addressed in the Spring Statement.
We urge the Chancellor to address these issues in the budget later this year and invest in young people and youth services.