The House of Commons library has published a briefing paper for a debate on youth services in England, Wales and Scotland, being held in parliament today.

The pack is 23 pages long, and includes information on the statutory duties and responsibilities held by local authorities in relation to the provision of youth services; funding for these services; and the impact of reduced council budgets on youth services around the country.

Very interesting questions and comments around youth services asked in the House of Commons by MPs in July are a fascinating addition to this pack, which also confirmed that the Government would review its guidance on the statutory duty for local authorities to provide youth services.

The review was launched on 10th July. 

The questions also confirm that the Prime Minister’s knife crime task force has only met twice, and that the Home Office would be publishing draft guidance on the operation of Knife Crime Prevention Orders (KCPOs) for public consultation in the near future.

Here are some extracts:

Asked by: Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)

The Home Secretary really should be ashamed of himself. If he comes to a place such as Huddersfield and other towns in West Yorkshire, which my right hon. Friend the Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) has just mentioned, he will find that it is about not only diverting young people from violence, gangs and crime, but tackling extremist views early on. If the Government dismantle local government youth services, they cannot just pass the responsibility across to community associations and think that is okay.

Answered by: Sajid Javid | Conservative Party | Department: Home Department

The hon. Gentleman should know that we have done a great deal since 2000 to support community projects, including youth community projects. I mentioned earlier the £63 million that we put into the “Building a Stronger Britain Together” programme. That is through the Home Office alone, but much more is going on through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Education and local government. He mentions Huddersfield. Just last week, I had the pleasure of meeting a young man called Jamal, who was the victim of racism, a form of extremism, in the hon. Gentleman’s own constituency. I had the opportunity to welcome him to our great country and to tell him that what happened to him in Huddersfield in no way represents the people of our great nation.

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno | Party: Liberal Democrats

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support youth services working to deter young people from crime, and violent crime in particular.

Answering member: Lord Ashton of Hyde | Party: Conservative Party | Department: Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Youth services and their strategic partners provide crucial preventative and targeted interventions and are an important partner in the strategy to tackle serious violence. My Department allocated over £863m between 2014/15 and 2018/19 to youth programmes providing positive activities for young people.

The Home Office’s £200m Youth Endowment Fund will deliver a ten-year programme of grants enabling interventions targeted at those who are most at risk of involvement in crime and violence in England and Wales. This follows an investment of £22m by the Home Office between 2018/19 and 2019/20 through the Early Intervention Youth Fund to support community services which deter young people from violent crime.

Her Majesty’s Government will continue to work together closely to implement the Home Office’s Serious Violence Strategy.

You can watch the debate here. 

Prime Minister Theresa May honoured single fathers charity DadsHouse and its founder Billy McGranaghan on Wednesday for the charity’s outstanding contribution to families.

DadsHouse received the Points of Light award, which is given to individuals making a difference within their communities and beyond.

Minister for Sport and Civil Society Mims Davies MP presented the award to Billy on behalf of Prime Minister Theresa May.

The event was held on the Day of the Single Parent which was also commemorated and hosted by Rupa Huq MP, and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Single Parent Families. Researching Reform was very kindly invited to the event.

Rupa gave the opening speech. She explained that the APPG’s aim was to celebrate single parent families, because “all families count,” she said. Rupa then introduced Mims, who talked about the incredible work DadsHouse was doing to support single fathers. Mims then gave Billy his award.

Billy gave a wonderful speech which included him singing a little – and then went on to talk about upcoming projects for the charity.

Special Guest Speakers included actress Michelle Collins, presenter Adrian Chiles and comedian Shappi Khorsandi.

Michelle spoke about what it was like for her mother bringing her up as a single parent, and also shared her own experiences as a single mother.

Adrian gave a touching speech about the everyday miracles performed by single parents across the country.

Shappi’s speech was also deeply moving, as she spoke about what it was like for her as a single parent and for others too. Her speech included her trademark sense of humour.

You can catch more of the action below in the photo gallery:

Legal Action for Women are holding their next monthly protest outside the Family Court in Holborn next Wednesday, 3rd July.

The protests are designed to highlight discrimination experienced by single mothers in poverty when going through the UK’s family courts.

Their latest update offers the following information:

“Mothers and children are legally entitled to financial and other support to stay together but they are not getting it. Instead millions are spent tearing children away from their families. Poverty and domestic violence are not ‘neglect’.”

“Facts:

• Women are primary carers in 90% of households. 28% of children live in poverty.
• There are more children ‘in care’ now than at any time since 1985 – 75,420 by 2018.
• Children from poor areas are 10 times more likely to be taken.
• Of families whose children are taken, 75% are single mothers.
• 90% of adoptions are without parental consent.
• While mothers are denied support, it costs £56k p.a. to keep a child ‘in care’.
• 0-90% of court cases feature domestic abuse yet less than 1% of child contact applications are refused.”

The demonstration will run from 12.30-1.30pm, and will take place at 42-49 High Holborn, London WC1V 6NP. 

You can access LAW’s blog here. 

Last night Researching Reform was very kindly invited by Young Legal Aid Lawyers to talk about how the family courts affect parents and children experiencing the system.

The conference was held at 39 Essex Chambers in London and was hosted by Tara Mulcair and Katherine Barnes. The audience was made up of young lawyers. The panel included Creighton & Partners solicitor Heather Thomas, and Garden Court Chambers barrister Malek Wan Daud.

Heather, who only represents families, spoke about the current gaps inside the system caused by budget cuts which made it harder for her to secure support for families and the legal challenges faced by women experiencing domestic abuse. Malek talked about the history behind forced adoption and the rise in litigants in person inside the family courts as legal aid cuts kicked in.

Researching Reform chose to speak about the unprecedented spike in child removals, the theories as to why there had been an increase in care orders and how families who just need support find themselves trapped inside the system with the threat of care orders looming over them. We explained how budget cuts and entrenched cultural practices created obstacles to accessing support and crucially, created a trend towards child removal.

We are very grateful to Young Legal Aid Lawyers and 39 Essex Chambers for giving Researching Reform the opportunity to amplify families’ voices at the conference, and it was a privilege to sit on a panel with such accomplished and passionate lawyers.

Image courtesy of Young Legal Aid Lawyers