Anger as Birmingham City Council bungles meeting informing staff of massive cuts of workers and centres
Birmingham City Council have told devastated youth workers they will be putting all youth centres up for sale and will axe all part time staff.
The shocking cuts come as Birmingham is in the middle of a teenage knife crime epidemic and days after the new Labour government promised to invest in youth work.
Staff were told every youth centre would be subject to "expression of interest" meaning third parties who want to buy them will be notified.
A Save Birmingham Youth Service spokesman said: "It has been announced that new proposals for the youth service will see the loss of 44 jobs. 37 of these will be youth support workers that are vital in running youth clubs and activities across our city.
"The loss of these roles will have an unprecedented effect on the services that Birmingham Youth Service can offer the young people of our amazing city. Further roles will be lost in essential admin and business roles within the new proposals."
After over a year of uncertainty and being subjected to a review undertaken by consultants with the brief the three services which deal with young people, careers, 14-19 and the youth service.
Dedicated staff believed they were going to learn their fate at a meeting on Thursday but many were left with more questions than answers as the Director of Children's Services Sue Harrison, who earns more than £100,000 of taxpayers money, repeatedly made mistakes about the youth service she is in charge of.
However, Miss Harrison, who trousered £82,707 when she left Central Bedfordshire Council after refusing to meet protesting parents furious at substandard services, in was clear 37 workers are set to be sacked and youth workers will no longer be able to create long term relationships with vulnerable children under a new "agile working model".
Youth workers flag up children in danger of sexual exploitation, county lines criminality and all other types of abuse. With a record number of children in the city not attending school their role has become even more important. However, youth work is not a statutory service for a council to provide, which is why in the last 15 years councils across the region have hollowed out their provision for young people out of school hours.
Birmingham, and the West Midlands, is in the grip of a teenage knife crime epidemic with both victims and attackers becoming younger and younger. As council chiefs calculated cuts to youth services a boy was murdered outside the council house in January, who protestors held a minute's silence for during a rally.
Under-fire Sue Harrison, Strategic Director for Children and Families, said: “Consultation has commenced on a redesign of the council’s Youth Service aimed at creating a service model that is sustainable and provides a consistent approach to youth services across the city that is more aligned with other services working with young people.
“We appreciate that any meeting where staff reductions are proposed can be difficult for staff and we have signposted support from managers as well as the council’s Employee Assistance Programme, for those who wish to take it up. Every member of staff will be invited to a one-to-one discussion as part of the consultation process.”
The cash-strapped council are undertaking the cuts due to gigantic financial blunders including a bundled equal-pay claim from female workers, much of which went to male workers, and at least £60m wasted on a new IT system.
A budget passed in March outlined over two financial years, the council must find savings of £376m. The Children and Families Directorate has been given a savings target of £52.2m for 2024/25 and £63.2m for 2025/26 financial year.
