Your feature, in last week’s edition, on the cuts Wiltshire Council have made to youth cervices in the county made interesting reading. While Wiltshire Council, and indeed all local councils are having to reduce their services, because of the severe budget cuts imposed by central government, it does seem very sad indeed that they have chosen to cut youth services so severely, when they should be investing in our young people.

The background to the cuts is interesting in its timing. An announcement was made in January that savings of £500,000 were needed, and that all 24 youth clubs were likely to close. After an outcry from young people, the savings to be made were reduced to £250,000.

In July the council voted for a community-led option, and most clubs in the county closed. This last date is significant, as readers may like to know that in July eight Wiltshire Council officers and councillors attended a local government conference in Bournemouth, at a cost of £6,000.

Although this is a relatively small amount compared to the savings to be made, it is certain that this conference is not the only one attended by councillors during the current financial year, so that if four such conferences were attended, this would be at a cost of £24,000, almost 10 per cent of the proposed savings.

I am not suggesting that it is not important for councillors to attend conferences, but at a time when “important choices have to be made” perhaps it should be considered that, for example, two representatives should attend, who could then disseminate the information to the others on their return?

It does seem appalling that at the last Devizes Area Board meeting, where youth services was an agenda item, there were only three area board members in attendance.

Chris Watts, Devizes Labour Party Parliamentary candidate.