The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has admitted there are budget problems in several Connexions services, including Birmingham and Solihull, Merseyside, South Central and Essex.

But according to Unison officials the problems go much wider than the DCSF admits. A Unison spokesman said: "We can find examples in all of our regions where services, which were formerly delivered by Connexions partnerships, are subject to cutbacks. These cutbacks will eventually affect the delivery of services to young people."

New figures from Unison show that budgets in Birmingham and Solihull have been cut by £750,000 and 20 jobs lost with the potential threat of further cuts from September.

In Cornwall and Devon, Unison has learned that the local authorities are cutting £970,000 from Connexions' £12.8m budget. And across Merseyside, 44 redundancies have been approved.

A spokesman for the National Association of Connexions Partners said the DCSF was not concerned with the quality of service that young people would ultimately receive. "The DCSF is focused on the transition process, not service provision, and its monitoring mechanisms are not robust enough to pick up concerns," he said. "It is giving local government power, which would be fine except not all local authorities understand the implications of taking on Connexions and what is required in its delivery."

But a spokesman for the DCSF said the new funding arrangements would allow local authorities to use their money more flexibly and efficiently to meet the needs of young people in their area. "We are working closely with Connexions partnerships and local authorities to protect frontline services and extensive consultation has taken place with Unison in local areas," he said. "Many local authorities are using the transition as an opportunity to develop better services for all young people."