| AdminHistory | The disruption to juvenile employment and training opportunities caused by the First World War attracted the attention of educational planners, and in the post war years it was characteristic of education authorities to offer support and ‘after care’ to children long after leaving school. After care work was first made possible with the Education (Choice of Employment) Act, 1910 which gave local authorities the power to provide assistance and advice to young people under 17 years of age concerning their choices in employment and training. A scheme was presented to the Board of Education for the creation of a Central Care Committee with a Central Juvenile Employment Exchange and Bureau, Branch Exchanges and a network of School Care Committees to advise young people leaving or who have left school up to the age of 17 years.
A slightly revised scheme attained the approval of the Board of Education and a Central Care Committee was appointed in July 1911 (see BCC/1/BH/7/5) which reported to the Attendance, Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee (see BCC/1/BH/7/1) until 1918 when responsibility was transferred to the Continuation Schools Sub-Committee (see BCC/BH/13/1). When the Continuation Schools Sub-Committee was not re-appointed in 1922 it was decided to transfer responsibility for the Central Care Committee to an entirely new standing sub-committee. This decision reflected the growing importance in the post war years of issues relating to juvenile unemployment and training and consequently in November 1922 the Education Committee appointed a new Juvenile Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee.
The duties of the Juvenile Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee were outlined at the first meeting. It was to be responsible for work involved in the operation of section 107 of the Education Act, 1921 relating to ‘Choice of Employment’; to appoint the members of the Central Care Committee; to consider and make recommendations to the Education Committee on the provision of evening play centres and ‘organised games’ in the city parks; and to discuss issues relating to juvenile employment and other related matters with both the Board of Education and the Ministry of Labour. From the outset the City Council decided that when the appropriate legislation was brought into effect, they as the local education authority would not only take responsibility for the work of choice of employment but would also include the administration of Unemployment Insurance for young people under 18 years of age. This would avoid any overlap between the work of the local education authority and the Ministry of Labour in accordance with the recommendations of the Chelmsford Report of 1921.
Consequently, from 1 April 1924, in accordance with section 107 of the Education Act, 1921 and by section 6 (1) of the Unemployment Insurance Act of 1923, the work of the Ministry of Labour Employment Exchanges as regards choice of employment and the administration of unemployment insurance was transferred to the Education Committee. The work was referred to the Juvenile Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee who appointed three District Employment Sub-Committees (see BCC/1/BH/14/3) to act as a link between the main Juvenile Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee and the already existing Group Care Committees (formerly known as School Care Committees, see BCC/1/BH/14/4) which concentrated on the after care of school leavers and young workers. The terms of reference of the Juvenile Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee were greatly extended to include both Choice of Employment and the Unemployment Insurance work).
The work of the Juvenile Employment Service administered by the Juvenile Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee was later affected by the Unemployment Act of 1934 which reduced the age of entry into unemployment insurance from 16 years to school leaving age, and the Unemployment Insurance Act of 1935 which consolidated the powers of local education authorities with regard to the administration of the Juvenile Employment Service. The Employment and Training Act, 1948, provided further authority for the extension of the Juvenile Employment Service and with a decision to now refer to the service as the Youth Employment Service the name of the Juvenile Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee was also changed to the Youth Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee from October 1948. When the scheme submitted by the Education Committee in response to the 1948 Act gained the approval of the Minister of Labour in January 1950, in accordance with the new scheme, the name of the Youth Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee was altered again to the Youth Employment Sub-Committee.
In addition to appointing the members of the Central Care Committee and the District Employment Sub-Committees, the Juvenile Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee appointed other sub-committees. Under the Local Government Act, 1929, the Education Committee also became responsible from 1 April 1930 for the management of hostels, the boarding out of children and cottage homes. It was resolved that the Juvenile Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee should become responsible for the management of hostels and the supervision and control of the boarding-out and emigration of children and they appointed a Hostels and Boarding Out Sub-Committee in 1930 (see BCC/1/BH/14/6). The Special Schools Sub-Committee assumed responsibility for the cottage homes (see BCC/1/BH/5/5 Cottage Homes and Residential Schools Sub-Committee). All of these responsibilities had been previously undertaken by the Boards of Guardians. The pre-1929 records can be found in the Aston, Birmingham and Kings Norton Poor Law Union collections held at Birmingham City Archives, catalogue references GP AS, GP B and GP KN respectively.
The passing of the Children and Young Persons Act in 1933 also saw the administration of Remand Homes transferred to the Education Committee. A Remand Home Sub-Committee was appointed by the Juvenile Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee in 1933 (see BCC/1/BH/14/7). With the passing of the Children Act in 1948 the newly created Children’s Committee became responsible for the management of hostels and the boarding out of children and remand homes (see BCC/1/CT). Other welfare responsibilities of the Education Committee also transferred to the Children’s Committee were the cottage homes, approved schools and the adoption of children. In October 1948 the Juvenile Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee changed its name to the Youth Employment and Welfare Sub-Committee.
In March 1962 the Education Committee embarked on a major reorganisation of the committees concerned with the Youth Service (see BCC/1/BH/14/1/1/37). The constitution of the Youth Employment Sub-Committee was widened so that the sub-committee had increased representation on it of voluntary youth organisations and was the executive sub-committee for the Youth Service as well as for Youth Employment. A standing Youth Sub-Committee (see BCC/1/BH/20/1) was also created with identical membership to the Youth Employment Sub-Committee to take over the functions with regard to the Youth Service. The Youth Committee (BCC/1/BH/14/5) was replaced by a Youth Service Advisory Committee to advise the Youth Sub-Committee or the Further Education Sub-Committee where appropriate on Youth Service matters (see BCC/1/BH/21/2). The Youth Council set up in 1940 to work alongside the Youth Committee was disbanded. |