Council faces judicial review over 70%+ cuts to youth services

North Somerset Council is facing a judicial review challenge over its decision to cut youth services provision by more than 70% between 2011/12 and 2014/15.

The claim, which is being brought by a young adult who has attended a youth club in Weston for several years, was lodged by law firm Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) at the High Court earlier this month. The court will decide next week whether to grant permission for a full hearing.

PIL said six youth groups in the area would cease to operate as a result of the cuts and a range of others were also affected.

It said: “Whilst the council has made limited finances available to ease the transition to community provision of youth services, their long term future is in doubt. Other cuts are also expected as responsibility for all other youth provision is left in the hands of a handful of youth workers and local residents.”

The claimant, who is being funded by the Legal Services Commission, will argue that North Somerset Council:

• Failed to thoroughly evaluate the impact and long-term sustainability of community-run youth services;
• Failed to adequately consult the users themselves or make them aware of the scale and impact of the proposed changes; and
• Breached its statutory duties under the Equality Act 2010 in failing to give due regard to its obligation to consider the ‘protected characteristics’ of a number of service users – characteristics such as disability, gender and race.

Daniel Carey, a solicitor at PIL, said: “Youth services are highly valued by the young people that use them and have been the lifeblood of many communities for a number of years. Their long term future has been thrown into doubt by the unprecedented scale of these cuts, which will bite harder progressively over the next three years.  

“For cuts of this severity, the law requires the council to carry out a high degree of information gathering and to anxiously consider their impact before approving them. But the council has clearly failed to do this. It is refusing to push the pause button on these cuts, so we have no option but to ask the High Court to intervene.”