SERVICES helping children who have broken the law, or who have problems with drink or drugs have suffered huge funding cuts over the last few year, councillors were told.

And the council officer responsible for the youth offending service said his teams were at a 'critical point' where further savings would affect frontline services.

Matt Bywater, restorative youth services manager at Swindon Borough Council, said funding from some sources had been slashed by 75 per cent in recent years.

His staff are responsible for managing child offenders who find themselves with court orders, as well as supporting youngsters who need help with drug or alcohol addictions.

He told the council’s Heath and Wellbeing Board the restorative youth services department faced a “critical point” in terms of a funding squeeze.

“The previous chief executive asked me the crunchy question, do I have enough staff to effectively deliver youth offending team and youth justice across Swindon?” he told councillors.

“At that point I did mention the ‘critical point’; we haven’t passed that, but we are at that critical point.

“Any further reductions in funding would impact upon frontline service delivery.”

Reports shared with councillors showed the youth offending team will receive income of almost £900,000 this year, including in-kind payments from Swindon Borough Council. Expenditure is expected to be over £642,000.

Mr Bywater said: “We have seen quite dramatic reductions in partner funding over the years.

“We’ve had a 45 per cent reduction from the Youth Justice Board over the last five years and latterly a 75 per cent reduction from the National Probation Service.

“This has caused us to reorganise ourselves in terms of our structures. What it hasn’t done thus far is impact on frontline services for children and young people in the criminal justice system.”

Figures shared with councillors showed an increase in the number of youngsters entering the youth justice system last year, up 13 to 121 children in 2017 compared to the previous year.

Youth rehabilitation orders, handed to under-18s by the courts for crimes ranging from shoplifting to assault, were up by 16 to 66 compared to 2016/17. Last year, 10 people were sentenced to custody, up from six in 2016/17.

However, youth arrest figures dropped significantly. In Swindon and Wiltshire, arrests fell from 2,262 in 2010 to 953 in 2016. Nationally, arrest numbers have dropped almost 80 per cent in the past decade.

Mr Bywater said his team had been busy with anti-drug and knife crime school visits, which were attended by more than 1,400 pupils last year. Knife crime was a key focus for the Swindon youth offending team, he told councillors.