Youth workers in David Cameron’s Oxfordshire base strike over cuts

Protester accuses PM of ‘hypocrisy’ – and union claims 80 local jobs at risk in £2.3m savings Two weeks after England was paralysed by riots, David Cameron chose to deliver a speech on the “slow-motion moral collapse” in Britain at Base 33, a youth centre in his Oxfordshire constituency. He may not have mentioned cuts to youth services, but local youth workers weren’t going to let the opportunity pass. On Tuesday they went on strike to protest against changes that they say could have a “huge impact” on young people’s lives. Standing outside the Bridge Bar, a youth centre, which is due to be replaced on 1 September by an “early intervention hub”, one worker described the anger at the prime minister’s decision to make the speech on 15 August at the youth centre in Witney. “To go to Base 33 and give that speech and not even mention the youth services he was cutting was very, very hypocritical,” she said. Like many protesting she did not want to give her name for fear of jeopardising future job prospects. Another youth worker, from another centre in Witney that is also due to close, said Cameron had argued in a meeting at his surgery that all cuts were down to local authorities and out of his control. “He said he understood what youth work is, but I beg to differ. Unless you are experienced in youth work you have no idea. It’s not like he is the type to ever use a youth club.” Unite – which organised the protest attended by a small but vocal group of around 30 people in Banbury, also in the Witney constituency – say the jobs of 80 professional youth workers are at risk, with the council looking to pass the running of its youth clubs to the voluntary sector. According to the union, Oxfordshire county council plans to cut youth service funding from £3.7m to £1.4m, one of many councils in the UK to slash funding . The council’s 26 youth clubs are set to be replaced by seven “early intervention hubs”, with an additional six “satellites”, according to a spokesman from Oxfordshire county council. A further nine centres will be run by voluntary organisations, and the remaining four are “in discussions with voluntary organisations”, he said. The hubs – which will deal with health, employment and youth justice as well as youth work – will be open to all, said the spokesman, and a website promises ” a base for direct work with children, young people and families “. But critics fear that a focus on referrals – the hubs aim to deliver “high quality early intervention and specialist services to children, young people and families with additional and complex needs” – will leave “non-problem” children out in the cold. “Youth clubs work because young people choose to go there,” said Doug Nicholls, Unite officer for youth workers. “If young people only go to these hubs because they have got to, it will compound in their minds that they are a problem that has to be dealt with.” Young people in rural areas such as west Oxfordshire, which includes Chipping Norton – home to a well-heeled set that includes former News International boss Rebekah Brooks, Jeremy Clarkson and the Camerons – would be left without a local centre to attend, he added. “We have already seen the impact of refusing to hear young people’s voices, and that is not to mention the effects on the silent voices we cannot now hear.” Paul, who has been a youth worker in Chipping Norton for 15 years, said he had refused to apply to be a “community hub worker” and that the role of youth worker had been devalued. “They are going to be seen as social workers, there will not be that voluntary engagement. I think it is very short-sighted and before long it will come back to bite them.” His colleague added that when riots erupted in several cities in England, youth workers received an email asking them to take to the streets and talk to the young people they worked with. “It was ironic, asking us to sort the problem out just as we were losing our jobs – more than ever they clearly need us, which is why this makes no sense.” One Sid Vicious lookalike, who was supporting the protests, said that without the studio in The Bunker – another youth club likely to be replaced – he would have never formed a band. “I’d be doing nothing, there aren’t any jobs around here,” said Daniel Capell, 18. “The people in there stuck their necks out for me so many times. It feels like no one will now.” David Cameron Public sector cuts Public services policy Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 23, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.