Lib Dems propose £1m for youth services in Haringey (From Haringey Independent)

Lib Dems propose £1m for youth services in Haringey

4:39pm Thursday 23rd February 2012 in News By Hermione Wright

Lib Dem councillors will fight for £1 million of funding for youth services in the borough at the budget meeting next week.

The Lib Dem amendments to the Labour budget, which will be presented to Haringey Council at the budget meeting next Tuesday, argue for a £1m fund to help young people find work, to reduce gang membership and to set up youth projects and services in the borough.

If accepted by the council, the youth fund for Haringey’s young people would grow from £1m in 2012-2013, to £1.2m in 2013-2014, and to £2m in 2014-2015.

Although the party is not yet clear where this funding will specifically be spent, members stress the importance of using the voluntary sector and charities in the borough to either create new services for young people, or re-open those services that have been forced to close due to Government cuts.

Councillor for Stroud Green, Richard Wilson, said the new youth fund is the party’s highest priority, and the focus of a string of proposed amendments to this year’s council budget.

He said: “No one is saying that cutting services caused the riots, but having really good services to help people into jobs will make a huge difference to the borough.

“There are so many better choices that could be made and it is a real shame that these opportunities are not being made.”

He stressed the importance of the fund being sustainable – it would be an investment lasting a number of years, rather than a single injection into services in the borough.

The party has criticised Haringey Council’s proposed One Borough One Future fund, which is a one-off £1.2m fund to finance projects supporting innovation in the borough.

Councillor for Crouch End, Paul Strang, said: “Youth unemployment is a huge issue, especially in this current economy. But unless you invest in youth to break out of this cycle, it’s not going to change.

“It is about committing to the young people in the borough. It is not just about jobs, but also about combating gangs, crime and helping people out of hard situations.”

If the youth fund is accepted at next week’s budget meeting at Haringey Civic Centre, it could be implemented by the start of the financial year in April.