Agenda item

To receive a presentation from Kevin Sweeney / David Whewell regarding the new formula for allocating Youth Worker staffing resources around Wiltshire, with specific reference to how this will affect Salisbury, followed by an opportunity for questions.

Kevin Sweeney, Operations Manager for Youth Development Services, Wiltshire Council, gave a presentation on the new formula for allocating Youth Worker Staffing resources across Wiltshire. 

Historically, the provision of funding for youth services across Wiltshire was relatively inconsistent, with some areas having secured extra funding and others having little in comparison.  To address this, officers had developed a formula for allocating staff resources between Wiltshire’s 20 Community Areas, as follows:

• Entitlement – accounting for 25% of the funding
• Population – accounting for 50% of the funding
• Deprivation – accounting for 10% of the funding
• Rural isolation – accounting for 10% of the funding
• Central reserves – 5% held as a contingency

As there was no overall change to the level of resources available, some areas would see their share drop and others would receive greater levels of resources.  Salisbury’s share would drop by 40 hours per week (leaving a total of 76 hours), however the Salisbury community area remained in third place overall in terms of how many hours it received compared to other areas.

In order to mitigate the impact of this reduction, officers had developed a series of proposals to try to maintain the existing level of service provision.  For example, some activities would be funded from different budgets for the 2010/11 year, and some hours had been transferred from the Salisbury Youth Development Centre (YDC) to Grosvenor House.  In addition, any “slack” that was present in the staffing system to allow for sickness absence etc, had been taken away.  As such, there was a risk that some activities would be affected by unplanned staff absences.

Kevin emphasised that the proposals were based on fairness in terms of allocating central resources, and that the new formula had been developed by choice.  Any additional resources from Town/Parish Councils, Area Boards, or partner organisations would not be affected by the formula.

The Chairman invited questions and comments as follows:

• In general, the new formula was welcomed, although it was hoped that the level of funding to this important service could be increased in future years.  Councillor John Thomson commented that £100K had been allocated to the Area Boards to spend on Youth Services during 2010/11.  This would be in addition to the Boards’ Community Area Grant budgets.
• It was noted that diversionary activities for young people were effective in reducing anti-social behaviour.  In addition, young people could learn useful skills such as motorcycle maintenance, photography and sports.
• In relation to a suggestion that clubs and activities for young people could be showcased at a single event, reference was made to the “It’s on in the Field” event as supported by the Board at its previous meeting.

Councillor Richard Clewer, speaking in his role as Portfolio Holder for Youth and Skills, thanked Kevin for the presentation and noted that, while Salisbury was losing out slightly, other areas such as Wilton and Downton would be receiving funding where previously there had been none.  As such, overall funding for youth services in the former Salisbury District area was increasing under the new arrangements.