Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of council run youth centres in (a) tackling youth crime and (b) supporting young people.

This government recognises the vital role youth services play in reducing a young person’s likelihood of becoming involved in crime. This will be a vital element of our Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, to intervene earlier to ensure this cohort is identified and offered support in a more systematic way, as well as creating more opportunities for young people in their communities, through the provision of open access to mental health and careers support.

In addition, in 2025/26 DCMS will launch the Local Youth Transformation pilot, which will support local authorities to build youth service capacity. They will also allocate over £85m of capital funding in 2025/26 to create fit-for-purpose, welcoming spaces for young people, including launching the new Better Youth Spaces fund, which will allocate at least £26m for youth clubs to buy new equipment and undertake renovations. This will also include completing the Youth Investment Fund projects.

The Home Office does not measure the outcomes for council run youth centres.