Cameron's 'Big Society' just empty words as cuts deny 400,000 young people the chance to volunteer

28 January 2011

Government funding cuts to youth volunteering organisations means 400,000 fewer young people will be given the chance to volunteer.

Unite, the UK's largest union and the leading union for youth workers throughout the UK and Ireland, has condemned the latest assault on support for young people - claiming that this reveals the government's 'Big Society' is no more than empty words.

Unite is warning that cuts which have led to the ending of funding from central government for the Youth Action Network - which supports volunteering among young people - and other organisations, will see the number of young people able to get involved in volunteering drop by 400,000.

Ten years of investment in youth volunteering is due to come to an end in April as government cuts grip the sector. The cuts come on the back of government changes which will see education made more costly and at a time when one in five young people is jobless, the highest figure in 20 years.

Funding from Millennium Volunteers and organisations across England have given millions of young people the opportunity to get involved in volunteering locally. However, when funding comes to an end the Youth Action Network and Unite estimate that at least 400,000 young people will be unable to continue their volunteering, as volunteer and charitable organisations are shut.

Doug Nicholls, national officer for the community and youth sector, said: "Over the last ten years brilliant organisations, such as Youth Action Network, have encouraged millions of young people to volunteer in their local communities.

"Axing the Millennium Volunteers programme and slashing funding to v will devastate youth volunteering in this country. These short-sighted cuts reveal the government's 'Big Society' to be no more than empty words. The government says it wants more people to volunteer in their communities, but as these organisations are forced to shut, volunteering levels will go down.

"Cameron's 'Big Society' is unravelling at the seams. It now means no more than a ruined society and less volunteering and less public service commitment."

Unite's members say they are facing a 75 per cent funding cut for youth volunteering. Unite is part of a coalition of 27 community and youth groups, Choose Youth, which has come together to save the UK's youth services. The coalition will hold a rally for over 1,000 young people in Solihull, West Midlands on February 12th to highlight the fantastic work of the youth service and the very real shortcomings of these short-sighted and damaging cuts.

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