Knife Crime: Children and Young People

Harpreet Uppal Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty) for bringing forward this important debate and for his moving speech. I also want to mention my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton)—I am sorry for what happened to her family.

Knife crime devastates communities across the country as organised criminal gangs lure children and young people into county line networks and organised criminality. Too many communities have seen children criminally exploited, and sadly we have seen the devastating consequences of knife crime in my constituency. In Huddersfield, Khayri Mclean, 15, and Harley Brown, 17, sadly lost their lives to knife crime in recent years. These were young lives cruelly taken too soon. Too many parents are dealing with consequences that no parent should have to face. Communities are left broken, and too many children and young people are left with mental scars.

The Home Secretary’s announcement of Ronan’s law, along with the launch of the coalition to tackle knife crime, the Young Futures prevention partnerships and the Young Futures hubs, are all welcome and important steps forward. By introducing stricter regulations on online knife sales and developing an extensive understanding of the root causes of knife crime, we are making it harder for young people to access those weapons in the first place and encouraging different, safer pathways. The measures are welcome, but alone they will not be enough.

Hon. Members have raised social media companies and the use of Spotify by gang members and so-called influencers, whereby algorithms are unfortunately driving this divisive behaviour, but that cannot be seen in isolation from what is happening on the ground. Kirklees council, covering my constituency of Huddersfield, has seen a 70% decrease in funding for its youth services since 2010. We know the loss of youth services has been linked to a 14% rise in youth crime within six years of the closures. We must invest in youth services, community outreach and early intervention.

Despite the difficult financial outlook, many incredible organisations support young people in my constituency, including Positive Stepz, Conscious Youth, Central Stars youth club, Team KickStart, Yorkshire Community Development, Empower, Boxpower and Temple Well-Being. The deputy mayor of West Yorkshire has also introduced an A&E navigator and community links programme, as other Members have mentioned. Those help to identify and signpost young people to the right support networks at the earliest opportunity.

Those organisations deliver outstanding community services to our young people, offering them experiences, opportunities and environments that allow them to thrive. However, despite their best efforts, the financial constraints that they face have resulted in many having to reduce their services. They continue to have to fight for small pots of funding, which is not sustainable in the long term. The evidence is clear: when youth services are cut, young people suffer.

Will the Minister provide details of when the Young Futures hubs will be introduced? I am keen for Huddersfield and towns like ours to be early adopters, alongside cities. We must also give communities the tools to tackle this problem from the ground up. It is usually local people and local communities who best understand the issues, but they often find themselves fighting against the system rather than being supported by it.

No parent should ever have to bury their child, and no community should have to live in fear. I look forward to continuing to work with Members from across the House, alongside the Government, to stamp out this epidemic of senseless violence.