Ministers have announced the opening of eight 'young futures' youth hubs across England, aimed at steering young people away from street crime and into employment. The centres, which will serve individuals up to age 18, offer employment advice, health and wellbeing support, and are designed to prevent youth involvement in criminal activity.
The hubs will be located in Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, County Durham, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, and Tower Hamlets. They consolidate existing services under one roof, targeting areas with high levels of antisocial behaviour. The initiative fulfils a general election pledge by Prime Minister Keir Starmer to create a 'Young Futures programme with a network of hubs reaching every community'.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy stated: 'The closure of over 1,000 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.' She added that the hubs represent a government commitment to investing in young people's futures.
The launch comes amid growing concerns over knife crime, with reports of children as young as seven carrying knives. Reform UK and the Conservatives have criticised the government's sentencing reforms, claiming offenders are less likely to face prison. However, the Home Office reports a 27% drop in knife-enabled homicides over 15 months, and decreases of 10% and 11% in knife-point robberies and hospital admissions for stabbings, respectively.
Young people aged 10 to 18, and those with special educational needs up to age 25, will have access to the hubs. The government also opened a new national knife crime centre in London on Thursday, focusing on tackling the online 'grey market' for weapons. Since the election, surrender schemes and bans on zombie-style knives, machetes, and ninja swords have led to 57,726 weapons being handed in.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch questioned the government's approach, saying: 'I believe that the thing that will bring down crime is people knowing that they will be caught and punished.'
