B

Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 24 July 2025

Debate

Young Futures Hubs

Contribution

The noble Baroness is definitely right. We have seen a reduction in spending on youth services of 73% since 2011, but that is a reason to be ambitious in the way that the Government are being with the Young Futures hubs. Good-quality youth provision has always been able to tackle all the issues that the noble Baroness identifies—it has just been undercut and reduced very considerably in the past 13 or 14 years. In bringing back those opportunities, with what we have learned about how to tackle mental health, divert young people from crime and provide the range of opportunities that enable young people to succeed in their lives, it is that ambition that the Young Futures hubs will deliver. The eight early adopters will help us to find the models that work well and, as the noble Baroness says, to evaluate them to ensure that we are building on the best practice.

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