YMCA Response to Young Futures Hub Announcement

Denise Hatton, Chief Executive, YMCA England & Wales, said:

“We warmly welcome today’s announcement and the expansion of Young Futures Hubs across England. After years of YMCA and the wider youth sector calling for young people to be given greater priority, it is encouraging to see the Government listening and taking tangible steps to rebuild the support available in local communities.

“Young people need safe places to go, positive things to do and trusted adults who are there to listen and support them. Bringing youth work together with mental health support, skills, training and employment opportunities recognises that the challenges young people face rarely exist in isolation. YMCA sees every day how important this kind of holistic, community-based support can be.

“With that said, we must also recognise the scale of what needs to be rebuilt. YMCA’s latest analysis found that local authority spending on youth services in England has fallen by 76% in real terms since 2010/11 – equivalent to £1.3 billion lost from services that young people rely upon.

“These new hubs, alongside the wider National Youth Strategy, represent important progress. But reversing more than a decade of decline cannot happen overnight. This must be matched by sustained, long-term investment in delivering youth services, rebuilding the youth workforce and supporting organisations already rooted in communities.

“Young people deserve more than short-term interventions when things go wrong; they deserve consistent opportunities, relationships and support that help them belong, contribute and thrive. We look forward to working with Government, local authorities and partners to ensure this investment becomes part of a lasting recovery for youth services across England.”