Catalogue description Board of Education and successors: Further Education Branch and successors: Local Education Authority Youth Welfare, Registered Files (YW Series)

Alphabetically in county and county borough order for England and Wales.

In Circular 1486 the Board of Education announced a policy and procedure for placing the new service on a permanent basis as one of the normal education services administered by authorities for higher education. In pursuance of that policy county and county borough youth committees were established for the areas of the authorities concerned, in order to help with the development and expansion of the work. The most striking feature of the new service was the introduction of the principle of partnership between the board, the local education authorities and the voluntary organisations, aimed not at starting a national youth movement but at creating facilities and opportunities for young people everywhere, with no attempt to impose from above any rigid system of uniformity.

In order to foster both national and local development the board offered direct grant under the Social and Physical Training Grants Regulations, 1939 to the voluntary organisations for the purpose of assisting local clubs and of maintaining headquarters administrative and organising services. At the same time local education authorities were encouraged to give aid under Section 86 of the Education Act, 1921 (re-enacted as Section 53 of the Education Act, 1944 under which education authorities have a duty to secure adequate facilities for recreation and social and physical training) their expenditure ranking for grant from the board. Two channels were thus created by which funds became available to local voluntary organisations.

The 1944 Education Act gave statutory recognition to the youth service. The ministry continued the system of direct grant to national voluntary organisations to aid expenditure upon central and regional services relating to training, organisation and administration; and also to provide aid for capital expenditure for local projects. The local education authorities were left with the responsibility of aiding the maintenance of local clubs. Grant aid is intended to supplement and not take the place of voluntary effort.