News from Westminster Labour

Queen’s Park community projects axed by ConDem government

Two projects in Queen’s Park Ward, Westminster have lost over £100,000 following cuts in Local Area Agreement funding announced by the Government. Plans to extend the Katherine Bruce Nursery costing £91,000 will not now go ahead and a project to help disengaged young men will finish 6 months earlier than planned to save £25,000.

The Katherine Bruce Nursery Extension would have created a more flexible space to deliver services to the wider community. The types of services could have included the delivery of employability programmes such as IT training, CV writing and confidence building as well as providing a secure, well equipped centre to support local groups and forums.

The Young Men’s Outreach Project will now finish 6 months earlier than planned. The project targets disengaged young men aged 13 to 25 who are engaged in anti-social behaviour and/or at risk of engaging in criminal activity. The project is delivered by Working with Men. The project’s aim is to improve employment skills and emotional well-being of vulnerable young men by giving them the confidence to move into accessing employment, education or training opportunities and therefore reduce anti-social behaviour as a result of engaging in positive activities. The service is delivered by two part-time Youth Workers.

Queen’s Park Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Opposition, said: “These cuts will hit the most vulnerable residents in Westminster and make a mockery of the Government’s so-called ‘Big Society’ plans to help people to help themselves. Using nursery premises to deliver job skills and training for parents is exactly what should be happening. And helping disaffected young men to get involved in positive activities is vital for community cohesion and tackling anti-social behaviour. These cuts are damaging and short-sighted and totally unjustified.”

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