Petition launched to stop massive cuts to Birmingham's youth services amid teenage knife crime epidemic

Birmingham City Council, which spent £100 million on a faulty IT system, is planning to slash the budget of the city's youth service, which is only a skeleton of its former self after previous cuts.

The city, which has the youngest population in Europe, has seen repeated teenage deaths caused by knife crime with the latest victim dying, 17-year-old Muhammad Hassan Ali, dying metres from the council house.

The remaining youth centres in the city, its anti-knife crime programme and youth workers who deal with the most vulnerable and potentially violent children in the city are all under threat. The £2.2million cut from the service is a drop in the ocean compared to equal pay claims, the Commonwealth Games and other projects but will decimate a service which has been run on shoestring for years. The cuts also will mean the end of the council's anti-knife crime programme in March.

More than 70 per cent of youth Services across the country have been lost since austerity, which corresponds with younger children being involved in knife crime and more teenagers falling into county lines and sexual exploitation.

In a last ditch bid to convince councillors, the cabinet and the Government commissioners installed in the city after years of failures, to recognise the importance of youth work, new campaign Save Birmingham Youth Service has launched a Change.org petition.

The campaign said: "Save Birmingham Youth Service (SBYS) are extremely concerned by the proposed substantial cuts to Birmingham Youth Service. This service has a long history of delivering high-quality youth work and supporting young people in our city. It operates 18 City Council-run youth projects and centres, particularly in areas of high deprivation. The potential closures of these will have a detrimental impact on the lives of young people in Birmingham.

"The proposed cuts threaten not only the existence of these vital spaces but also the loss of universal youth work, and our crucial youth violence programme. These Centres and projects provide safe spaces for Birmingham's young people and are run by professionally qualified youth workers who dedicate their lives to improving the lives of young people."

"Birmingham Youth Service is is a lifeline for many young people who rely on its services for support, guidance, and safety. The loss would be immeasurable - not just in terms of facilities closed or programmes cut - but in futures disrupted and opportunities lost.

"We cannot stand by while such an essential service is threatened with cuts that will undoubtedly affect some of our most vulnerable young people. Our children and teenagers need us now more than ever before."

Sign the petition here https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-proposed-cuts-to-birmingham-youth-service?fbclid=IwAR0PmeANMFbmgBtIflfkvjpGt49c1xM8NwlPGGX9XBRnVRzOs1S5OmFwhy4