Youth Cafe, London Street, Basingstoke.Poster for event attached

An Alliance of children's and young peoples voluntary sector organisations say that "Hampshire's across the board cuts in grant funding and drastic reductions in subsidies for the use of school facilities threaten the future of many valuable community services provided by the voluntary sector"

They are also alarmed that these cuts are being proposed without proper consultation with the sector- against the spirit of working arrangements only recently put in place.

Local press quickly picked up on proposed cuts in the Children's Services funding which threatened Stubbington Study Centre. In response Leader of the County Council, Cllr Ken Thornber found an extra £95,000 to give the Centre a year's reprieve.

Local authorities expect too much of youth services, without backing their expectations with funding, according to Ofsted.

The inspectorate's report highlights a stark contrast between the strongest and weakest youth services. The number judged as "good" or "outstanding" last year rose on the previous year from six to 15, but seven were judged "inadequate" and in need of considerable improvement.

Building on the best: overview of local authority youth services 2005-6 covers August 2005 to August 2006, when 33 youth services were inspected. Eleven were judged "adequate". The strongest was Doncaster, which was judged outstanding. Isle of White was inspected during the period under review and was found to be "good". Hampshire will be undergoing an inspection shortly.

this from "Young People Now"
Youth workers in Cheshire are at loggerheads with the council over plans to outsource the county's youth service.
Cheshire County Council's Conservative executive decided last week to recommend the transfer of its youth service to a separate company, merging it with Connexions in the area. The company would be owned by Cheshire County and Warrington Borough councils and run by a board of council and Connexions representatives.

If the council backs the recommendation next Thursday, it will mean the creation of an integrated service by April next year, with a budget of about £12m and employing 350 staff.  more here

Budget 2006 announced that the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review would be informed by a series of policy reviews, one of which was a review of children and young people, building on the Government's strategy to improve their outcomes. Terms of reference of the Review.

A discussion paper, published on 9 January 2007, reports on the evidence that has been gathered to date to inform the Review of Children and Young People. It also provides a discussion of the issues and challenges raised by that evidence.

Policy Review of Children and Young People: A discussion paper (HTML format, 32 Kb)

This from "Young People Now" 

Drugs advice can be a minefield for youth workers who want to protect young people but not break the law. John Plummer asks the specialists what information staff should and should not provide to young people.

Knowing what to do when a young person is found taking drugs is one of the hardest challenges youth workers face.

Everything ranging from the young person's welfare to the law, privacy, health, ethics and the drug policy of the premises where the incident took place has to be considered. Yet despite the acute sensitivity of the situation, little guidance exists. more

Youth Clubs Hampshire and Isle of Wight are looking for 2  Active Citizenship Development Officers 15 Hours per Week, £10,714pa

This is your chance to be involved in this exciting and innovative project planning and delivering a wide variety of sessions in a range of different youth work settings

They are seeking two locally qualified youth workers to become part of our expanding Active Citizenship team.

For more information or an application pack please call 01962 852307 or email ce.ychiow@ukonline.co.uk

The first 40 Respect areas that will receive extra cash to tackle antisocial behaviour were announced today by home secretary John Reid.

Chosen local authorities have signed up to a range of measures including family intervention projects. They will receive £6m of Department for Education and Skills funding to run parenting classes in 2007/08.

The number of antisocial behaviour orders issued has almost tripled since 2003, government figures published today show.

There were 4,060 Asbos issued in 2005, up from 3,440 in 2004 and 1,336 in 2003, an increase of a 203.9 per cent, according to the Respect task force. The figures brings the total number of Asbos issued since the orders were first introduced in 1999 to 9,853.

The Children's Society and Hampshire Drug and Alcohol Team invite you to have your say and participate in a review of "Joint Working Protocol: Mental Health, Substance Misuse and Childcare: Hants, Portsmouth and Southampton Social Services and relevant Trusts"

Free of charge - venue Crosfield Hall, Romsey, Hants, SO51 8GL.

Limited places - so apply soon to Gill Jeal young-carers-initiative@childrenssociaty.org.uk

Connexions have now issued invitations to tender. See previous post for detail.

Further information can be seen on Connexions web site www.connexions-soutcentral.org. Click on the exchange button at the foot of the page. Sign in with "vcs" and password "pass"