WIREDGOV

Cllr Richard Watts, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Resources Board, responded to a consultation launched yesterday by government on a public health duty to tackle serious violence 

“If we are to stem the tide of tragic violence across the country there needs to be greater investment in services which protect and support young people, keeping them safe from the lure of gangs and county lines drug activity or from becoming involved in serious crime.

“Youth offending teams within councils have an outstanding record of reducing youth crime and making a real difference to young people’s lives, but they are under huge pressure after seeing their government funding halved over the last decade.

“Children’s services are now starting more than 500 child protection investigations every day, but face a £3.1 billion funding gap by 2025. This is forcing councils to divert funding away from preventative services such as youth work into services to protect children who are at immediate risk of harm.
 
“To help stop young people being criminally exploited and drawn into knife crime, it is vital that government reverses years of funding cuts to local youth services, youth offending teams and councils’ public health budgets, which need to be addressed in the Spending Review.”

#CouncilsCan: Spending Review 2019

With the right funding and powers, councils can continue to lead local areas, improve residents’ lives, reduce demand for public services and save money for the taxpayer. Securing the financial sustainability of local services must be the top priority for the Spending Review.

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Serious youth violence summit to launch public health duty to tackle serious violence