The community youth work services budget in Mole Valley has been almost halved this year, and services in Epsom and Ewell have been cut by eight per cent, in the wake of a county-wide 11 per cent cut.

Community youth work services is under the Services for Young People umbrella, which focuses on reducing rate of teenagers not in education, employment or training (NEET), and is usually delivered through youth centres and clubs.

While the overall spending reduction was outlined in February’s Surrey County Council budget, changes in spending have varied greatly between boroughs.

Mole Valley District Council has seen services cut by 42 per cent, and Runnymede borough by 29 per cent, while Guildford has had an increase of 26 per cent.

Spending distribution is decided by a formula which takes into account factors including population and previous NEET rates.

Epsom and Ewell has a NEET rate of just 1.1 per cent, and the county’s is 1.7 per cent, compared with the 12.7 per cent national average.

Surrey County Councillor, Eber Kington - also chair of the Epsom and Ewell local committee into community youth services - suggested Epsom and Ewell and Mole Valley had been ‘punished to an extent’ by strong performance.

Mr Kington said: "Our local team is focused on employability of young people and that’s why our NEET rate is so low.

"So because they’ve done a good job, they now have less money to work with.

"Fortunately in Epsom our cut isn’t as big as the county-wide cut, but it’s still eight per cent.

"We accept times are tough at the moment and cuts need to be made somewhere, so we’re not completely surprised but it is still unfortunate."

Are you affected by the youth work cuts? Comment below or get in touch at ben.weich@london.newsquest.co.uk.