New direction agreed for West Sussex Youth Services

A decision has been taken to re-shape West Sussex Youth Services to involve young people more in the way the service works.

The decision has been taken today (Friday) by West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Children and Families Pete Bradbury.

It follows consultation with young people, staff, residents, partners and the County Council’s Children and Young People’s Services Select Committee.

Work will now take place to create an Integrated Youth Support and Development Service, by combining the Youth Service, Youth Offending Service and Connexions (the general advice service for 13 to 19-year-olds). The budget for the combined service will be reduced by £2 million, targeting scarce resources on those most in need.

Earlier this year the County Council said it would focus on work with and support for vulnerable young people such as young offenders, Looked After Children, teenage parents, young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs), and young people with drug or alcohol problems.

This approach will play a leading role in the new service and teams will have the flexibility to respond to targeted groups and areas of need. They will also work closely with local community partnerships when there is a specific need.

The decision report says the new service will be in place by April 2011 and will lead to universal youth provision largely coming from within communities, with the support of the County Council.

The County Council will explore opportunities to help organisations become more self-funding and apply for external funding.

Work will take place to reduce overall staffing levels within youth services, focused on reducing management levels and developing integrated teams that provide local pools of staff.

Reductions in revenue and staffing costs to some voluntary organisations supported by the Youth Service will also be phased in. These are:

Crawley Youth Centre

Cobnor Outdoor Centre

Konnect Project, Bognor Regis

Chichester Boys Club

Lodge Hill, near Pulborough

The Rural Mobile Trust

The report adds that the County Council will work closely with local communities and other partners to explore alternative methods of governance for the following –

Crawley – either the Oriel or Ifield youth wing Horsham – Weald and Holbrook Mid Sussex – Cuckfield and the Beacon Centre at Hassocks Arun – Yapton, Rustington/Ferring Chichester – Witterings

The report also says that existing contracts for 2011 onwards will be renegotiated to achieve a cost saving, including the contact for the Connexions service.

Pete Bradbury said: “It’s no secret the County Council has to make huge financial savings and find new ways of working. Every service is being looked at in turn to make sure it is as efficient as possible.

“I am confident the new-look Youth Service will ensure that young people are involved in designing and evaluating services they believe are more tailored to their needs.

“We will focus our resources at communities most in need across West Sussex. In those areas where we cannot provide, we will play a key role to enable communities and other partners to run youth services themselves, very much part of the Big Society agenda.”