Apology as cuts to 10 young carers' youth clubs scrapped

A councillor says she feels "appalled" that an overturned motion to cut youth club services for young carers caused distress to families.

The proposal would have seen funding cut for 10 youth clubs from April to save £185,000, as part of ongoing efforts to prevent Somerset Council going bankrupt.

But at a meeting on Wednesday, the decision to cease both the Young Carers in Schools (YCIS) programme and the Young Carers Clubs scheme was thrown out.

Councillor Heather Shearer, lead member for children, families and education, apologised for the stress caused to families and said she felt "appalled" families had had to witness the public debate.

Shearer explained the motion for the cuts had been a "first look" at some of the proposed savings for the next financial year and aimed to reassure families, saying: "This particular stream of potential savings has been taken off the table quite definitively.

"What I feel appalled by, and it's our fault for the process we put people through, but I'm really sorry that we had to do this so openly and so publicly."

The authority says just over 700 young carers have been identified in the county, but it is estimated, through national census figures, that there could be up to 1,750.

The council currently spends £148,900 on part-funding 10 young carers' clubs in the county.

Of that, £36,000 is spent on the Young Carers in Schools (YCIS) programme, which is part of a nationally accredited award scheme set up by the Carers Trust and the Children's Society.

It helps schools identify young carers and put support in place so they can achieve their full potential at school.

Meanwhile, the youth club sessions enable young carers to have some respite from responsibility while spending time with their peers, taking part in activities and accessing support.

Teacher Lisa Hunt, young carer lead at Northgate Primary School in Bridgwater, said the sessions helped children feel less "isolated".

Arwen, a nine-year-old carer who attends the school, said she most enjoyed going bowling, visiting the beach and completing an assault course, all hosted by YCIS.

"It's made me feel seen by other people," she added.

Hunt added the YCIS programme offered many benefits, such as teacher training.

"It's given me support, there's always somebody at the end of the phone, it's given me more knowledge, more understanding," she added.

Andy McGowan, from the Carers Trust, acknowledged the stark financial pressure the council was under, but said severing support for young carers was not the answer.

"We know that if you don't identify and support young carers, it costs not just the young person, but it also costs in terms of society as well," he said.

Shearer added there were "no easy savings to take now" at the council, and "everything" had "to get looked at equally".

"I think it's also really important that we do debate these things openly and publicly. We don't want to make decisions behind closed doors," the councillor said.

"We got a lot of organisations and parents coming to us to say 'This is not a good idea', and for all kinds of really sensible reasons.

"We listened to that and made decisions accordingly."

Sherer said she was "pleased" at the outcome, but added there were other potential cuts the local authority needed "to think about, but we will try to do it as humanely as possible and allow people to really speak to us".

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