Which Way for Youth Work?

Friday 12 October 07

Readers may know that there is a process ongoing known as the 'Review of Public Administration' (RPA), looking at the way public services work both at Northern Ireland and regional (Council) levels. The official website says:

The Review of Public Administration represents a real opportunity to revitalise public services in Northern Ireland, to replace current structures with a new, more accountable public sector, working together with a common purpose to meet the needs of the 'on-demand' lifestyles that people now lead and have rightly come to expect from our public services. It is an opportunity to realise the vision of a world-class Northern Ireland.

These are grand aspirations - particularly as it is an opportunity to ensure that services and structures meet the needs of all sections of our population. At a time when Northern Ireland is becoming more ethnically diverse and when there is greater awareness of the needs of people with disabilities, or those suffering from mental ill-health. We can only hope that the RPA helps us to produce a more tolerant, inclusive and responsive society. So if we are to have a 'world class Northern Ireland', can we have a world-class Youth Service to go with it?

So far the plans are to integrate the existing Education and Library Board youth structures and the Youth Council for Northern Ireland into a new 'Education and Skills Authority'. We are told that this exercise will be 'resource neutral'. The total budget of the Youth Service, we are told, is around £34 million pounds annually. This is less than one percent of the total education budget. At a time when there are the highest ever levels of youth suicide, when we have an education system which is failing massive numbers of our young people and where there are significant moral panics about 'anti-social behaviour' by young people, is it really good enough to have such a minimalist approach to the issues facing young people?

From our work in WIMPS and Public Achievement we know that even modest amounts of resources well utilized, can make a very significant difference in the lives of young people. Yet at the same time we have significant problems getting access to any of the £34 million budget, as funding such as the Youth Council's Core Funding Scheme, is closed to new applications whilst the RPA slowly rolls on. The Minister for Education recently delayed the implementation of the Education and Skills Authority (ESA) by another year. This will suit those who are already in the core funding club, or who have jobs in the statutory agencies affected, but is it really a good enough response to the needs of young people?
In a significant number of the communities in which Public Achievement and WIMPS are active, there is little or no statutory youth provision. So where are the existing resources going? There is also absolutely no clarity about how local youth work will be administered in the future - is it through one body - the ESA (and if so, can it really be expected to understand and respond to local need), or through local Councils (these structures are due to change and Councils have little experience of services for young people and even less of youth work approaches)?

There is talk of the creation of a 'Network for Youth' in Northern Ireland, with local (Council level) and Northern Ireland level structures. This work has also been supported by the campaigning of Chris Madden from Carrickfergus through this site. However, is there not a danger that the network could end up being the icing on a fairly poor cake? Without an adequate review of the needs of young people in their communities and youth work responses to these needs, might the network not end up as a way of making it look like adults are taking young people and the issues they face seriously, without actually doing anything significant to address these needs?

We suggest that much more significant funding is needed (at least double the current budget) and this money should come with a commitment to good quality programmatic evaluation of that work so that funding is based on outcomes rather than numbers. In our part of the youth sector, it is also vital that funding is longer-term and sustained to ensure that we can retain skilled staff and quality programmes.
There is currently a consultation underway on the Youth Council's core funding scheme. You can also send your views to the Department of Education on the Review of Public Administration, or contact the Minister for Education, Caitriona Ruane, directly. We would also love to hear your views on youth work and its role in your community - so feel free to comment on the discussion forum (you need to be registered to do this). Contact us if you want to make a video about these issues. You can also see Public Achievement's response to the Youth Council consultation, and their response to the Review of Public Administration here.