Save KCC's Youth Service from cuts - sign our petition
Kent County Council have announced their plan to slash youth service budgets by more than 50% along with a promise to outsource more of the service. The detail on KCC's plans show that they intend to take £1.7m out the the youth budget, leaving just £1.2m. They are closing 24 youth centres across Kent making 64 people redundant.
Young people are being hit very hard by the recession, suffering the highest levels of unemployment, ridiculous rises in student fees and now they are seeing the youth service slashed and burned. What sort of message does this give to the next generation of leaders?
This needs to be fought. Youth services are vital to the well being of our communities, for providing guidance to young people and for giving them wider support. There are also 64 families who are facing misery and hardship due to the ideological cut imposed by the Conservative and Lib Dem to public sector funding.
The full list of Youth Centre closures across Kent:
Ashford: XC Youth Centre, Sk8side Youth Centre
Canterbury: Whitstable Youth Centre
Dartford: The Bridge Youth Arts Centre
Dover: Linwood Youth Centre. Aylesham Youth Centre
Gravesham: Miracles Youth Centre, The Gr@nd
Maidstone: Shepway Youth Centre, Lenham Youth Centre
Sevenoaks: Edenbridge Community, Centre (opening 2012)
Shepway: Hythe Youth Centre
Folkestone: Youth Project
Swale: Sheerness County Youth Centre
Faversham: Youth Centre
Tonbridge & Malling: SAMAYS Youth Centre
Thanet: Concorde Youth Centre, Artwise Youth Centre
Tunbridge Wells: Mascalls Youth Centre
Read the details of Kent County Council's plans here.
Facts - why the country is not broke:
- The country was in more debt for most of the 20th century than it is now including when it founded the NHS (Ref: False Economy)
- The country has a lower debt to GDP ratio than France, Canada, USA and almost the same as Germany (Ref: OECD - page 21)