Support Our Manifesto
Our Vision for a New Youth Service is our new Manifesto adopted in February 2013... "Existing statute and funding arrangements have not prevented the disappearance of youth service provision in many areas across the country. A new, highly cost effective, nationally directed, locally delivered funding stream and structure is urgently needed to make sufficient youth service provision available to all young people throughout the year."
Our vision is for a new legislative and political commitment to creating a quality universal service for young people aged 13 - 21. This service should be protected in statute by dedicated ring fenced funding managed by a new national partnership body allocating resources to partnerships in local authority boundaries that bring together all youth service providers.
A well funded youth service promotes social inclusion, encourages partnership working and gives young people hope and aspiration. It is cost effective. We estimate that along with all previous professional calculations of resource requirements, that for just £350 a year per young person, all young people could have access to youth work services in their immediate locality.
Please sign up and show your support to this manifesto, either as an individual or as an organisation.
The Choose Youth coalition already has over 30 national organisations affiliated to this campaign and if you are a representative of an organisation that is interested in becoming involved please make contact with us.
Contact us
Email and tell us about cuts being made to your services. Email us with your stories and pictures…the speed of the cuts are totally wiping out services in some cases and we need your help to keep up with things so that we are aware of what is happening.
Support us
Send us your messages of support »
- Our supporters:
- Unite The Union
- Compass Youth
- GFTU
- British Youth Council
- IDYW
- Unison
- Federation for Detached Youth Work
- 42nd Street
- Children and Yound People Now
- Sign Community
- National Union of Teachers
- Musicians' Union
- Professional Footballers Association
- National Pensioners Convention
- For Youth's Sake
- Navca
- UCU
- Youth Work Unit
- NUS
- NAYCEO
- TAG Professional Association of Lecturers
- Vanessa Rogers
- Hope Not Hate
- Black Activists Rising Against Cuts (BARAC)
- UK Youth
- Media Trust
- NCVYS
- Your messages of support
- March 12, 2013 at 12:51pm
As an ex-youth and community worker and as a Youth and Community work educator, I strongly endorse your statement and action to try and persuade those in power to protect the provision that is nationally provided for young people through statutory and voluntary sector youth work provision. Jean Hatton, Senior Lecturer in Youth and Community Work, School of Education and Professional Development, The University of Huddersfield
- February 11, 2013 at 10:25am
Message of support from Oxfordshire Community and Youth Workers... looking forward to the day Oxfordshire has a ring-fenced statutory Youth Service.
- October 11, 2011 at 9:35am
Youth are the future. We must do everything we can to keep a fully funded youth service provided by the public sector.
- October 5, 2011 at 10:07am
i cant make it to the rally though i did want to give my support to the cause. i am a youth worker working in stockport, manchester and have seen the results of youth provision cuts in my local and wider areas. crime and community issues are already visibly increasing locally. STOP THE CUTS AND INVEST MORE IN YOUTH PROVISION!!!!!!
- July 22, 2011 at 4:15pm
Feel sorry for you all as don't no what i would do if the youth service I use closed I would be lost would really miss it!!
- July 22, 2011 at 4:13pm
I can't make the rally but want to show the support as the youth service I go to really helps me because of the staff they are really helpfull and supportive no matter what!!. please can people support so they don't have to close please!!
- March 25, 2011 at 2:03am
I didn't make the Feb Rally. But I will be Marching on Sat 26th for the young people I have had to say good bye to today who have no voice. My contract ends next Thursday due to current funding cuts. I also March for 10 of my colleagues who also lose their jobs.
- February 10, 2011 at 9:54pm
I am a retired bank manager and want this short sighted plan to increase fees aboloshing. We need the next generation to be highly educated and technically adept. The liberal democrats should never had joined the tories.
- February 10, 2011 at 9:49pm
stop this nonsense. keep the youth clubs open and reduce the fees for all students. tax the rich and treat the lib dems as leppers.
- February 8, 2011 at 10:04pm
As a retired Senior Social Worker, Children and Families I am finding it very hard to accept the way the most disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society are going to experience the unfair consequences of the decisions which are being made not only by central government but at a local level. Unfortunately I am unable to attend a rally but I endeavour to raise my concerns at every opportunity.
- February 8, 2011 at 1:14pm
Sorry I can't join you on Saturday due to constituency commitments but I am greatly encouraged to see young people standing up for themselves and joining the political debate; long may it last. Alan Charles, Deputy Leader Derbyshire Labour Group
- February 7, 2011 at 7:59pm
Sorry that I am unable to join you on Saturday but just wanted to add my own message of support. Young people represent the future of this country and cuts to their services are just short-sighted. For many people, youth workers are acting as the parents that they just don't have and positive role models helping society as a whole. Cuts to youth services are totally unnecessary - you should ask every councillor and politician to cut their own waste first such as excessive extra allowances and perks, publicising themselves in unnecessary Council-funded newsletters and posh breakfast events costing thousands. At least one politician agrees with your cause - I really hope it goes well - good luck!
- February 7, 2011 at 7:20pm
Unable to attend the rally due to work. So good luck, we need Youth Support. What will happen with our young people of today without help. Good luck
- February 5, 2011 at 4:22pm
I am part of the IYS City Team I am on the intranet if you have access x
- February 5, 2011 at 4:20pm
Would there be any chance of catching a lift to the rally, I am happy to contribute to cost x I am a youth worker from the Norwich Team x
- February 3, 2011 at 5:16pm
The European Youth Forum is please to support youth services in the UK and across Europe. As the largest youth organisation in the world and the largest democratic platform in the world we stand with all the young people fighting for their services. Watch the video message of support here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkNgM6wGVEM
- January 31, 2011 at 3:10pm
UK youth work and youth workers were and still are inspiration for Balkan youth workers who are starting to establish youth work. It would be such a paradox that good example and role model of youth work and youth services loses support. Changing lives of young people and providing them with skills and experiences they cannot find anywhere else is so valuable asset that every community should cherish and support. Only those people who never worked as youth worker can make decisions not to support it. So, my suggestion is - bring them to youth clubs and youth services to meet and talk to young people who experienced youth work programmes.
- January 27, 2011 at 4:11pm
I would be there if I could but I am supporting a young people fundraising event that day. Good luck to the action which should not have had to be taken at all. We should do everything we can to protect young people's services
- January 26, 2011 at 1:31pm
I can not attend the event on the 12th but would like to offer my support as a youth worker.
- January 26, 2011 at 12:08am
I should be bringing a group of 30-40 young people, volunteers and youth workers from norfolk
- January 21, 2011 at 4:06pm
Youth Action Network is supporting Choose Youth. Youth volunteering is going to disappear alongside all youth work if we don't do something about it. We're standing up for our members and the thousands of young people they work with every year. Look out for us on the day!
- January 16, 2011 at 1:06pm
Full support for the rally and the campaign from The People's Charter, which fights for a People's Britain, not a Bankers' Britain. Any campaign for a decent future must have youth at its heart. Bill Greenshields, for The People's Charter
- January 13, 2011 at 1:46pm
Members are advising me on a daily basis about devastating cuts that are demolishing youth services. Only today I have been told about proposals from Birmingham City Council to cut £3 million pounds this year from youth services, with further cuts over the following two years. The blame game between Central government and local government continues, and even though local government has been advised by Central government to use their reserves to prevent cuts in front line services, youth services are continually the easy target in comparison to other front line statutory services. I urge members of Unite to say 'Choose Youth' and support this rally.
- January 10, 2011 at 7:56pm
The In Defence of Youth Work Campaign will strive to build support for the Rally. We need to take inspiration from the creative activity of young people, pupils and students in the pre-Xmas period.In particular we should pay tribute to the improvisatory character of young people's opposition to youth service closures, epitomised by resistance in Oxfordshire and Haringey. Young People are showing the way! The struggle is far from over!
- January 7, 2011 at 3:01pm
The modern Youth Service was born following years of campaigning by the union and voluntary organisations after the near collapse of voluntary youth sector projects in the 1950s. Let us take heart that with the coalition of partners we have brought together for this event we can turn demolition of young people's services into a new set of investments and hope. Cutting youth work is a dangerous false economy. Youth work jobs are not ours to sell for paltry redundancy pay offs. We owe it both to the past and the future to save our service and make it prosper.
- January 6, 2011 at 9:31pm
Is coming to the rally and hopefully bring colleagues and young people. Hope there is a big turn out and that it can stop the destruction of the service.
- January 6, 2011 at 7:29pm
Biggest threat that I can ever remember to services for young people. Drop everything and be there.
- January 6, 2011 at 9:14am
I can't make the rally but want to show my support for the cause! I will make sure that I publicise the event as much as possible - good luck, let's hope it makes a difference, we need our youth services.