IMPASSIONED pleas to keep youth provision for all in West Devon were made to councillors last week.

A special meeting in Okehampton to discuss the future of youth services in the county heard young people from across the borough stress the importance of maintaining existing services, wholeheartedly rejecting the shift towards purely reactive help for those most vulnerable in a bid to save costs.

Devon County Council does not have a statutory duty to provide youth services and is facing a £100-million shortfall in its budget over the next four years. As part of this a series of meetings are being held across the county to review youth services.

The meeting in Okehampton was well attended by youth leaders, including those from local voluntary organisations. They said that many young people in the area relied on the existing services, particularly in the rural area. The need for youth leaders in the rural areas being given the outreach support was highlighted as a major issue.

West Devon youth worker Vicki Lloyd said the bottom line was that universal youth provision, which included a network of youth clubs, youth workers, advice and support to prevent young people getting into problems, was most likely to go because so much money needed to be saved.

She said:?'The proposals are to work with certain agencies over a six-month period to help vulnerable young people but what happens at the moment is much more longer term than that.

'The current services are led by young people; there is lots of consultation and we provide what they want, everything from playing pool and socialising to things like sexual advice and careers advice.

'They can access this two or three times a week and see the same people and trust is built.

'It is about tackling any issues before they develop into problems and this is a very big thing to potentially take away from the young people from this area and all over Devon.'

There is a move towards working with voluntary organisations to provide a network of youth provision, but the feeling is that the voluntary sector is already overstretched.

Okehampton rural county councillor Christine Marsh said: 'In Okehampton these youth services are important — and that is shown by Okehampton United Charity providing funding for extra services. Often there are no other places for young people to go, particularly the vulnerable youngsters who need support most. 

'As well as Room 13 providing a place to go, Devon Youth Services offers support and advice on important topics youngsters face. They help with practical things, like a group down there who are learning to cook. They provide support at weekends, and really provide youngsters in Okehampton with a lot.

'If there were big cuts it would prove disastrous. Through my dealings with West Devon and in the past with Devon County Council, I know that they want to look at providing the same or similar service in a different way. But from the view of the town council and the community, it would be more than we could pick up. We need to start raising our voices now, and let the council know the importance of these services to our youngsters.'

The county council cabinet member responsible for youth services Will Mumford said the youth service was a key part of the offer the council delivered to young people and to communities.

'But it is clear that the service needs to change if we are to continue to meet our statutory duties and serve our communities well with the resources available,' he said.

'Changes in Government policy and a need to focus more on helping young people in most need mean that we must look again at the way that these services are currently delivered.'

The county council's budget for youth provision in 2013/2014 is £3.7-million. A further series of meetings to discuss youth provision will take place this month. Comments are also being invited on the council's website.