Hackney (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Hackney Youth Parliament urges the council to halt further cuts to youth services, warning of the impact on young people and the community’s future.
Six representatives from the junior political group attended the cabinet meeting at Town Hall on Monday to urge council members to refrain from withdrawing any additional funds from Young Hackney, the organization’s parent.
Off the back of roughly £2m savings made this financial year, elected member Zoe asked the cabinet:
“Following the recent cuts and restructure, can the council guarantee that they will make no further cuts to young people’s services over the next two years?”
The youth representatives had expressed disapproval of the move to cut money without consulting them.
Additionally, they asked the council to provide them with updates on its pledge to quadruple the borough’s Year 10 and 11 students’ job experience.
As part of the Hackney 100 initiative, Hackney has been providing young people with a range of work experience opportunities since 2014. However, this programme has undergone several changes throughout the years.
The initiative was revived in September under the name “Hackney 100 Skills+,” but it was only open to people who were 25 years of age or older.
This prompted the adolescent MPs to ask the council if it would consider reducing the eligibility to 16 years old.
Finance chief Cllr Robert Chapman (Labour) sought to assure the group that “despite challenging financial circumstances, [the council] will not forget our young people”.
Cllr. Chapman did neither confirm or deny whether they would suffer any more cuts, despite pointing out that Young Hackney had already been forced to make savings in order to balance the council’s budget.
“We will continue to explore creative means to invest in our young people,”
he said, pointing out that the borough will still have a £51 million budget deficit through 2029.
Although Hackney 100 Skills+ was now only aimed at adults over 25, the council was still providing two to four week work internships for young people as part of its green construction jobs campaign, according to Cllr Carole Williams, the borough’s employment leader.
The Hackney Youth Parliament is promoting the continuation of youth services, highlighting their significance for the growth and welfare of young people.
They contend that these services are essential for offering chances and support in fields like mental health, work, and education.
Due to a decline in government funding and rising service demands, Hackney Council is under a lot of financial strain.
In an attempt to address these issues, the council has been putting savings plans into place and using reserves to pay for necessary services.
The Hackney council provided 68 school work experience opportunities in 2023, she continued, and this year is expected to provide “more or less double” that number of placements, reaching 120.
Cllr. Chris Kennedy, the cabinet member for health, culture, and social care, also informed the delegates that he wanted them to be involved as “the voice of young people” in future meetings, such as a joint panel that would address neurodiversity and the increase in diagnoses of autism and ADHD over the past ten years.
Hackney’s lead for education and youth, Cllr. Anntoinette Bramble, the deputy mayor, expressed regret to the youth for not properly informing them of the cuts to Young Hackney.
“It wasn’t acceptable that you weren’t informed that young people were spoken to, heard and listened to. We will engage with you going forward,”
she said.
Young Hackney distributed a petition in November asking the council to reevaluate cutting £1.7 million, or “a third of its operating budget.”
The organization emphasized at the time that additional funding was required after an impartial assessment of its offerings.
Alastair Binnie-Lubbock (Green), an opposition councillor, told the Citizen that the young politicians were “fantastic and brave” for voicing their concerns to the government.
“Despite deputy mayor Bramble saying that the Labour administration were listening, it was really disappointing that the cabinet members failed to give straight answers to the questions put by the young people in attendance.
Specifically, Cllr Chapman failed to give assurance that there would be no further cuts to the service in the future.
Cllr Williams dodged answering the question of whether the Hackney 100 programme could have the age requirement lowered from 25 plus to 16 plus, restoring access for younger people who may benefit from that support into work.”
What specific cuts are being considered by the Hackney Youth Parliament?
Young Hackney has already achieved considerable savings of about £2 million in the current fiscal year.
The council is being urged by the Youth Parliament to refrain from making any more cuts, as this could have a negative effect on the availability and quality of services for youth.
The council is being urged by the Youth Parliament to treble the number of work experience opportunities available to pupils in Years 10 and 11.
In order to accommodate younger students, they are also asking that the age requirement for the Hackney 100 Skills+ programme be dropped from 25 to 16.
The absence of youth consultation prior to the implementation of earlier cuts was condemned by the Youth Parliament. They want to be included in decision-making processes that impact youth services and have more open communication.