fbpx Our policy update for May 2019 - London Youth

31 May 2019

Welcome to this month’s update on the policy context for London Youth members. You can find previous policy updates here.


Our policy & media work

Networks

This month, we held the Tackling Youth Violence Network in Ealing. We heard from the Greater London Authority (GLA) about the next round of the Young Londoners’ Fund, the National Lottery Community Fund about what effective anti-violence programmes look like, and the London Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) engaging on their new public health approach model. Thank you to all of our speakers – you can read more about them here.

To coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week, we held an open session on the mental health and wellbeing challenges for youth professionals. London Youth now offers an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) free of charge to all staff at member youth organisations because sometimes we all need some extra support.


Important updates

The partnership of Impetus PEF, the Early Intervention Foundation, and Social Investment Business have opened applications for the Youth Endowment Fund, which is a £200 million Home Office fund to prevent serious violence among 10-14 year olds over 10 years that was announced in December around the Serious Violence Strategy. Application close on 23rd July 2019.

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Knife Crime, which is chaired by Sarah Jones MP, have published figures on the connection between cuts to council funding and the rise in serious violence. Nationally, the average cut in real-terms spending on youth services has been 40% over the past years, with the City of Westminster cutting 91% of funding. During the same period (between March 2014 and September 2018), there was a 68% increase in knife offences recorded by police in England and Wales. The Metropolitan Police recorded a 47% rise in knife crime offences, the fourth highest of any police force.

The Guardian are encouraging young people to let them know how they have been affected by youth service cuts and youth centre closures. This is a rare opportunity for young people to have their stories told in the media. We support this approach and encourage you to circulate this opportunity to young people in your network. You can find the online form here.

The Department for Education (DfE) and the Race Disparity Unit have published the Timpson Review of School Exclusion. DfE commissioned the independent review to explore how head teachers use exclusion in practice, and why some groups of pupils are more likely to be excluded. We frequently hear from youth professionals among our membership that exclusions are one of the largest barriers to young people’s success in London. Many see exclusions as increasing dramatically, motivated by schools prioritising their reputation over the needs of young people, and racially disproportionate.


Updates

Reports & resources


Get in touch

Our Policy Advisory Group is the best way for our members to be at the heart of the policy and media work that we do to represent you and the youth sector in London. Please consider joining this email group so we can get in touch about opportunities to engage on specific issues.

Please feel free to get in touch with any questions or to get involved in our upcoming policy work.

Samuel Howell, Policy Officer

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