Letter: Make the right Connexions

Correspondent • Published 8 Jul 2010 08:00 0 Comments

It is a real tragedy (and a huge false economy) for Reading Borough Council to cut the funding of Connexions (a local organisation that helps young folks get their lives back on track) by £317,000 ('Connexions job fears', Chronicle, July 1).

This is especially because Reading Borough Council recently claimed that over 18% of Reading's youngsters are at high risk of needing such help as Connexions provides while it also claims that over a quarter of Reading teenagers and young adults live in areas falling into the 20% most deprived nationwide.

This 25% are suffering enough deprivation already - to also deny them the help and support of organisations like Connexions is nothing less than criminal!

Many of the 25% also need professional psychiatric help and support, this year 874 referrals were made by the six unitary authorities in total.

Despite paltry local provision in 2009/10, it seems our local youngsters are unimportant to the Reading Borough Council hierarchy (judging from the above) and that is the biggest tragedy/scandal of all time (or so it seems to me).

PAUL FARMER

Coley

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