A total of 166 bids were submitted to Hull City Council by the deadline of
15 March for the first of two rounds of allocations from the
government’s Youth Opportunity Fund (YOF) and Youth Capital Fund
(YCF), which provide young people with positive things to do and safe
places to go.
However, the bids, from individuals and groups of young people, are worth a
total of £662,000 – more than the entire year’s budget -
heralding a day of tough decisions for the 80-strong band of young people
who will scrutinise the submissions. They meet on 30 March at
Hull’s Quality Royal hotel to judge around 120 bids and, where
necessary, quiz some of the bidders. A further 40 plus bids will be
scrutinised by the end of April by additional panels.
Bids range from those asking for £150 of YOF cash to YCF projects
worth up to £30,000 plus. Examples from the past include
teenagers requesting grants to help them represent their county in sports
such as ice hockey and fencing, to established youth projects hoping to buy
a mini-bus or refurbish a youth centre.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families’ YOF and YCF
schemes are part of its Aiming High for Young People strategy – a
10-year plan to provide safe places to go and positive things to do for
young people at times when they most want and need them.
