YOUTH services in Devon will be run independently as a social enterprise in the future to help protect it from further budget reductions.

The Cabinet Office confirmed earlier this week that the Devon Youth Service will be part of their Delivering Differently for Young People programme.

It means that the county council’s service will receive £20,000 from the Government over coming months to help in establishing an independent social enterprise to run Devon’s youth service in future.

The council agreed last year to set up the independent enterprise because it was the only way of protecting the youth service from further budget reductions.

It now plans to establish the mutual organisation, which will employ the service’s current youth workers who will continue running the service for young people and their communities.

he not-for-profit social enterprise will have access to funding currently inaccessible to council services and departments, and therefore be less reliant on council budgets.

The council will retain responsibility for ensuring its statutory responsibilities for young people are carried out, commissioning the new organisation to deliver them on the council’s behalf, subject to tendering.

Councillor Barry Parsons, the council’s cabinet member with responsibility for the service said: “This is excellent news from the Cabinet Office.

“This will give a much welcomed boost for young people, as well as to youth workers involved with the service.

“It’s also a great bonus for the County Council to be able to show the high value placed on this service, despite the budget cuts we’re suffering.

“We want the service to have firmer footing that is less affected by the constraints of council funding.

“We’re confident that this is the best way to protect the service’s future for young people, while ensuring that the staff, who are already known within their communities, continue to provide the service.”

The news comes as the council announced on Wednesday that it’s cabinet had agreed to accept the government’s offer to increase council tax by two per cent to help pay for adult social care.

It would raise just under £6.5m extra this year, and the increase will be on top of any rise in the rate for general services which will be decided at the annual budget meeting next month.

Council leader John Hart said the decision was a “difficult” one to take but that the rise in minimum wage would boost incomes for many, including the care staff.

He added: “We are well aware that many people in Devon are living on fixed incomes or low wages and any increase in their living costs is unwelcome.

“But the rise in the minimum wage will boost incomes – especially for many of our care staff who do an absolutely vital job looking after our elderly and vulnerable adults.

“George Osborne offered all upper tier councils the opportunity to earmark an increase in council tax especially for adult care in his autumn statement last year.

“At the same time our government grant was reduced again and without taking advantage of this offer, we would have to make even more severe cuts than we will be considering in the budget next month.”