Bristol leaders welcome youth services strategy as new funding targets local support

Local TV

Bristol’s inclusion in the government’s new National Youth Strategy has been welcomed by local leaders, who say the funding could strengthen youth services, improve access to careers support and expand safe spaces for young people across the city.

Transcript

00:00Bristol's leaders say the government's new national youth strategy could play an important

00:04role in strengthening youth services across the city, particularly for young people who

00:08need extra support.

00:10The strategy, backed by £500m, sets out a 10-year plan to rebuild youth provision nationally

00:16and Bristol has been chosen as one of the first areas to benefit.

00:20Far too many young people don't have someone who cares about them, places to go and things

00:24to do.

00:25That's what this strategy is about, we're putting £500m behind it and we're stepping

00:30up to make sure that young people, wherever they come from in the country, whatever their

00:34background, can live the lives that they want to live.

00:37Young people were at the sharp end of all of the decisions that have been made.

00:41They were often forgotten about during a global pandemic, they were at the sharp end of the

00:45cuts that were made to public services, we've seen 73% cuts to youth services across the board

00:52and as a consequence far too many young people in this country are growing up without an

00:56adult who they can turn to, who can help them navigate the complexities of being a teenager

01:01in today's world without places to go, without things to do and we're determined that that's

01:07going to change.

01:08The West of England Combined Authority has confirmed that Bristol will host one of the

01:12Early Young Future hubs due to open by March 2026.

01:18These hubs are designed to bring youth workers, careers advisers and support services together

01:22under one roof, making it easier for young people to get help, guidance and opportunities

01:26in the local area.

01:27Well, we want to make sure that young people, whether they're diagnosed with conditions

01:32or not, get the chance to live the lives that they want to live and make the contribution

01:37that they want to make.

01:39And that at the moment is not true for far too many young people, we've got a million young

01:43people not in education, employment or training.

01:46But behind that are children growing up in poverty, who are held back from living their

01:52lives and living out their potential.

01:54We've got young people who are growing up in situations where they can't go out and spend

01:59time with their friends.

02:01They can't access sport, music, dance, drama, youth clubs.

02:05They don't have adults who they trust, who they can turn to.

02:09And so taken together, we're going to turn that around, we're going to invest and we're

02:12going to make sure that all young people, no matter what their background, where they

02:16come from, can live out their potential.

02:19Because more and more young people are retreating into their bedrooms and spending most of their

02:23free time alone online.

02:26Because the places and the spaces that used to exist in the real world no longer exist.

02:32We're determined to change that.

02:33So we're investing in a new generation of youth workers.

02:37We're rebuilding youth clubs across the country and making sure that all young people have

02:42someone who cares, places to go and things to do.

02:45Council and regional leaders say the combination of national funding, new local facilities and

02:50existing support services could help create more consistent opportunities across Bristol,

02:55giving young people safe places to go and clearer routes into work, learning and community life.

02:59say life.

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