GFTU BGCM 2019 Minutes

and collective engagement. That is why Cat has got the most important job, to

re-engage a new generation so that the generations to come can, as we did,

say that growing up in Britain is now better than it was in a previous generation.

So welcome to Cat. (Applause)

CAT SMITH, MP, YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE FUTURE OF THE YOUTH SERVICE

CAT SMITH: Thank you ever so much, Doug, and thank you to everyone for inviting

me to address this General Council meeting. I thought Doug’s introduction

perhaps highlights the scale of the task before us. The GFTU has a long and

proud history in the trade union movement and has played a pivotal role in

campaigning for a statutory youth service which is why I am so pleased to be

speaking today, because as Labour’s Shadow Minister for Youth Affairs and

Voter Engagement, of course, too, it is a pleasure to be able to update

delegates on the work that we are doing in the shadow team on this area of

policy as we prepare for a Labour Government that can truly transform lives.

Many of you will not need reminding of the challenge facing the youth work

sector. After nine years of austerity many parts of our country no longer have a

recognisable youth service. Recent analysis by Labour found that spending on

local authority youth services has fallen by 70% since 2010. That has led, to

put it into context, to 760 youth centres closing and more than 4,500 youth

workers’ jobs lost. The loss of youth work in our communities has had a

devastating impact on young lives across the country, because young people

have lost out on role models, someone who can build their aspirations and

empower them to recognise their strengths, but also to divert them away from

harm.

Young people have lost a safe space, somewhere to be creative, develop

social groups and friendships and have a sense of belonging and ownership

over their local area. These are not things that you can get in schools. Young

people have also lost opportunities to learn new skills, take part in social action

projects and re-engage in education and as a result there are many young

people growing up today with nowhere to go, nothing to do and no one to

speak to outside of that school or potentially home environment and it is within

this context that it is hardly surprising that we are seeing the chronic levels of

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