County Council U-turn on Youth Service

4.47.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 21st Apr 2008

County Councillor Colin Taylor champions the needs of young people in Epsom and Ewell

County Councillor Colin Taylor and Surrey Lib Dems have welcomed the lifting of the county's freeze on Youth Service recruitment.

They argued that whilst county councillors from all political parties have said for years that Youth Centres are not properly used, the Conservative administration had failed to do anything effective about it. At the beginning of December county officers reacted to massive planned cuts in the budget for youth work by cancelling interviews and not moving forward on any new appointments.

However, in recent months the Tory Executive has taken notice of the Lib Dem call to lift a ban on recruitment. Lib Dem County Councillor Diana Smith who is spokesperson for Schools and Learning said "I hope it's not too late to improve morale and attract the new staff who are essential".