Our stance
72% of young people consulted agreed with this statement.
What do MSYPs want to see?
- Consistent funding across local authorities.
- More accessible and inclusive spaces.
- Better frameworks for councils to follow.
What action has SYP taken so far?
Hamish Nott MSYP and Daniela Onyewuenyi MSYP gave a joint speech to the First Minister and his Cabinet on the power of youth work and the case for further investment in the sector. Tom Schmoll MSYP and Beth Mackay MSYP also raised the issue with senior civil servants at our annual Executive Takeover meeting.
Members engaged with the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government team, which sets out the government’s priorities for the next year, and secured a committment to “invest in community‑based youth work, focussed on reaching young people outside the classroom and supporting access to education, training, and employment”. Following the publication of the programme, government staff confirmed our calls to action were influential in deciding the commitment towards youth work.
The Campaign Planning Group, formed of MSYPs who are leading the campaign, have selected two key aims for the campaign – security of current funding, including the conditions to accessing it and demonstrating the impact of youth work both when young people benefit from it as well as when they miss out on high quality local youth work. CPG Members met with Martin Whitfield MSP to discuss his proposals for a Private Member’s Bill on the issue – you can read our response to his Youth Work (Scotland) consultation.
In March 2024, a group of MSYPs from island communities spoke with an independent researcher as part of the review into Community Learning and Development. They were asked about their lived experiences of CLD in rural communities and what they think could be done to improve the current offering. SYP also previously responded to the overall consultation on CLD.
Alongside this, SYP’s ‘Youth Work and Me’ report highlighted the importance of youth work in providing young people with opportunities and bringing communities together. However, MSYPs raised budget cuts as well as institutional and cultural barriers as issues facing the youth work sector.
The current situation in Scotland
The past four years have seen a global pandemic, major disruptions to our education system, increasing concerns about the climate emergency, a growing mental health epidemic, a cost-of-living crisis, and many other changes in our day to day lives. Throughout this time, youth work across Scotland has continued to deliver essential support to thousands of young people, despite increasing funding challenges.
Youth work has undergone significant budget cuts. Between 2016 and 2019 youth services were cut by over £11 million. Since then, data on youth work spending has been unclear, but there have been growing reports from youth workers and young people across Scotland that services are underfunded and closing down. There are fears that this is putting vulnerable young people at risk of losing out on youth work services.
Our next steps
MSYPs from the Campaign Delivery Group are now focusing on producing a campaign deliverable in early 2025, which will help raise awareness of the issue.
We will host a roundtable event in summer 2025, and will welcome representatives from the youth work sector to allow for decision makers hear from those working in youth work and importantly, from young people themselves, on what action needs to be taken.
Resources
Want to learn more about youth work and the impact it has on young people? Check out these resources:
- YouthLink Scotland, the national agency for youth work.
- Youth Scotland, the national charity for youth work in the community.
- The CLD Talks podcast, a podcast on youth work and community learning and development.
