New £20,000 grant for Westhoughton youth and play services

Applications have opened for a new £20,000 scheme to provide youth and play services in Westhoughton.

The new funding pot has been created by Liberal Democrat run Westhoughton Town Council.

Organisations can apply for the funding in the current financial year to provide play or youth facilities that will benefit children and young people in Westhoughton.

The money has been made available from existing funding for youth provision in the town and left over funds that were previously designated for the Coronation.

It is in addition to a £30,000 contract with Bolton Council's Youth and Play Services which is also set to be renewed.

Councillor Arthur Price, who represents Wingates ward, said: “Sadly youth and play services have been severely cut by the Tories and have been in decline for years.

“The Liberal Democrat team in Westhoughton is passionate about creating more services for young people, so I’m delighted that the town council has backed our plans for this new grants scheme.

“We’re excited to see how this funding will help more children and young people access vital local services.”

The extra funding comes amid the backdrop of huge cuts to youth services by the Conservative government.

Figures uncovered by YMCA reveal the true extent of cuts to youth services funding by local authorities in England and Wales since 2010, with an allocation of just under £429m in 2018/19, compared to £1.4bn in 2010/11 – a real terms decline of 70%.

Every region of England has each seen funding for youth services cut by more than 60% since 2010, with some of the most severely affected experiencing average area cuts of as much as 74% in the North West.