Government programme begins by targeting on eight locations with high levels of antisocial behaviour and knife crime.
As part of the government’s national youth strategy, the first eight of 50 ‘Young Future Hubs’ are opening in Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, County Durham, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, and Tower Hamlets. Each hub will aim to transform the lives of young people for the better, cut crime – especially knife crime and antisocial behaviour – and protect communities.
Photo by Papaioannou Kostas / Unsplash
The hubs will provide young people with welcoming spaces in which they will have access to safe, trusted adults, and to services and advice to combat social isolation, mental health and unemployment.
The government is investing £70m in the 50 hubs, as part of a wider 10-year, £500m programme to rebuild youth services after years of decline. The national youth strategy has been designed in collaboration with more than 14,000 young people across England.
Under the scheme, the hubs build on existing local support services, bringing them under one roof. The hubs are open to young people aged 10 to 18, or up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities. Well as providing well-being support and careers guidance, the hubs will offer activities including sport, arts and volunteering.
In some locations, hubs will work with new multi-agency Young Futures Panels to ensure children at risk of knife crime are provided with more focused support. These panels bring together the police, children’s services, schools and community organisations to identify vulnerable children early, spot risks that may otherwise go unnoticed, and ensure they are quickly referred into the right support before issues escalate.
Lisa Nandy MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom, says: ‘The closure of over a thousand youth centres since 2010 didn’t just take away facilities, it took away community, connection and opportunity for a generation. We are determined to rebuild that.
‘These hubs are about more than bricks and mortar, they’re a statement that this government believes in young people and is investing in their futures. What makes them different is that we’re joining things up – wellbeing support, crime prevention, work coaches, youth services, all in one place. We’re making sure teenagers have somewhere to go, someone to talk to, and a real chance to thrive.’
Sarah Jones MP, Minister of State (Minister for Policing and Crime), adds: ‘Knife crime devastates lives. Behind every statistic is a child who didn’t make it home, a family whose world has been shattered, and a community left with fear. This Government will halve knife crime within a decade, saving lives and protecting communities. We will roll out Young Futures Hubs in crime hotspots across the country to divert young people from violence, cut crime and protect communities.’
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