Fears raised over lack of funding for Bridgnorth youth services

Bridgnorth Town Council opted to set aside £7,500 to fund the service for one year at a meeting on Tuesday, but supporters of the club claim this is only half of what is needed according to recommendations from Shropshire Council, which funded youth services in previous years.

At the meeting to set the annual budget, councillors had the chance to increase the grant allocation from £11,175, which includes £7,500 for youth services, to £15,00 in order to ensure sufficient funding was available if needed.

This would have increased council tax by an extra 6p per month but councillors agreed to leave the grant allocation at £11,175.

Councillor Julia Buckley, who represents East ward, said she was "frustrated" and "let down" her motion to increase the budget was not passed, and that the future of the town's youth services were now "at risk".

"Qualified youth workers are paid on a national pay scale and Shropshire Council has said from its experience that it costs about £15,000," Councillor Buckley said.

"The idea that someone will do it for £7,500 means they either won't be qualified or simply won't be youth workers."

In response to Councillor Buckley's concerns raised at the meeting, West ward representative Councillor Sarah Stevens said: "We have to look at a lot of things in the budget. I know you are really passionate about this. Everyone has things they are passionate about. But there are lots of other things as well.

"We should stick with the proposed amount that has been put forward."

Diane Ferguson, of Capella Counselling, works with young people throughout Bridgnorth offering them therapeutic help.

She said: "The mental health of young people is deteriorating and there's plenty of evidence to support this.

"I can see now in the work I do that anxiety has increased in young people, who are supposed to be able to mix with their peers.

"I think it's disappointing the town may not have sufficient funding as we want a quality service and having a lesser amount of funding is going to make getting a quality service in place a challenge."

A report published by the Prince's Trust this week found that one in four young people admit they feel "unable to cope with life" since the start of the pandemic, increasing to 40 per cent among those not in work, education or training. It also stated that half of 16 to 25-year-olds say their mental health has worsened since the start of the pandemic.

Jonathan Townsend, UK chief executive of the trust, said: "At this critical time, we need businesses, government, and individuals to work with us to help as many vulnerable young people as possible. It is only by working together that we can stop this generation of young people giving up on their futures – and themselves."