Youth will Rock you - We are the Future!

Hear a quick blast of the young people singing outside last night's North Somerset Council meeting about 37 minutes into BBC Radio Bristol's breakfast show for the next 7 days. Followed by a discussion on cuts to services in North Somerset and how these might be much less if North Somerset refused the council tax freeze grant and increased council tax by 3.5%. Click on this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00msg3x

Below is coverage of the Youth Services Protest on 17th January from the Weston Mercury, including his great video.

Protest - council cares more about old than young
By Tom Wright

More than 40 children and teenagers chanted songs and waved banners ahead of the full North Somerset Council meeting in a desperate bid to get their point across.

One volunteer called for the councillors to stop ‘punishing’ the younger generation for the mistakes made previously, as a £800,000 budget cut threatens to close centres across the region.

Charlie Lane, aged 18, said Tuesday’s protest outside the town hall in Weston was their third in as many months.

She said: “All the young people, as well as me, understand the cuts have to be made. But I think North Somerset Council care more about the older generation and don’t give much thought to the younger generation.

“Their generation has made the problems and they should at least sort it out.”

The protest, featuring youngsters from Weston, Portishead, Clevedon and Nailsea, was organised alongside public sector workers’ union Unison.

A spokesman for the union said: “We have serious concerns about the council’s ability to deliver services to some of the most vulnerable people in North Somerset, if further cuts are approved.

“In children and young people’s services the council are proposing another massive cut of £12million. This is a very high risk strategy.

“The council don’t set their budget until February 21st so there is still some time to campaign.

“We need to persuade North Somerset Council that there are choices to be made and there are things that they can do to lessen the impact of the cuts.”

North Somerset Council announced last year it needed to make more than £47million worth of savings over the next three years as part of the Government’s austerity measures.