Outrage as secret decision to scrap funding for youth projects is outed

Liberal Democrats today expressed shock and outrage as it was announced that promised revenue funding to supporting continuing essential programmes for young people was being withdrawn.

In February the Conservative administration in County Hall announced that Area Boards in Wiltshire would only be allowed to fund capital projects in the following year. This meant that existing projects, such as those that support subsidising transport for young people and funding Street Youth Workers would have ceased.

However, following an additional grant from the government it was announced that £165,000 would be made available to Area Boards across the county to support projects for children and young people. Indeed the leader of the council boasted about how she had listened to concerns raised by Councillors and was responding to them.

At a training session today Councillors were shocked to learn that this was now only able to be spent on capital projects - which specifically excludes items such as those previously described.

Leader of the Lib Dem Group Jon Hubbard commented, "This is simply disgraceful. Promises were made to both the council and the public. Clearly the decision to break these promises was made long before the election but covered up and then slipped in to a training session in the hope that nobody noticed.

"We need to see an immediate withdrawal of this change. I have tabled an emergency question to Full Council on Tuesday to ask Jane Scott to personally intervene and ensure this funding is made available for purposes it was originally promised for."

The question asked by Cllr Jon Hubbard is shown below.

To the Leader of the Council.

At the cabinet meeting held in Salisbury prior to the setting of the annual budget in February, and at the subsequent budget setting meeting you made reference to the additional funding won from National Government which was to be spent on young people in the county. This was to be allocated through area boards and on both occasions you made express reference to various revenue projects such as subsidised transport and street youth workers which would otherwise have lost their funding with the capitalisation of the main Area Board funding.

I now understand that this decision has been changed and that this funding is to also be capitalised. Why has this change been made after these promises were made to council? Who is going to take responsibility to the communities affected about this change and the cessation of the services previously offered? Was this decision taken before the elections and if so, why was no public cannot cement made?