Government opens first eight Young Futures Hubs in bid to reverse youth services decline and halve knife crime

The government has opened the first eight of 50 planned Young Futures Hubs across England, targeting areas with high levels of knife crime and anti-social behaviour as part of an ambitious programme to rebuild youth services after more than a decade of decline.

The hubs, located in Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, County Durham, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and Tower Hamlets, will provide young people aged 10 to 18 — and up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities — with access to mental health support, careers guidance, crime prevention services and positive activities such as sport, arts and volunteering, all under one roof.

The announcement comes as the government prepares to publish its plan to halve knife crime within a decade. Titled "Protecting Lives, Building Hope", the strategy is due to be released on 7 April and will set out measures to support young people, divert those at risk from violence, and strengthen policing to catch and punish perpetrators.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the closure of more than a thousand youth centres since 2010 had stripped away "community, connection and opportunity for a generation". She described the hubs as "more than bricks and mortar", emphasising the joined-up approach that brings wellbeing support, crime prevention, work coaches and youth services into a single location.

"We're making sure teenagers have somewhere to go, someone to talk to, and a real chance to thrive," Ms Nandy said.

A decade of decline

The hubs form a central plank of the government's National Youth Strategy, dubbed Youth Matters, which was described as the first such strategy in 15 years. The ten-year plan is backed by more than £500 million of investment and was developed in consultation with more than 14,000 young people across England.

Government figures show that local authority spending on youth services has fallen by 73 per cent since 2010, with 1,036 council-run youth centres closing over that period. Ministers have argued that this decline left many young people without access to safe, supportive environments and contributed to increased social isolation and reliance on online interaction.

The £70 million earmarked for the hub programme will fund the establishment of all 50 hubs, with the remaining 42 due to be rolled out over the next four years. The first eight have also received support from a £4 million Local Youth Transformation Fund designed to build local capability and leadership.

How the hubs will work

Each hub has been co-designed with young people to ensure the spaces and activities reflect their needs. In Manchester, the programme spans three main sites across Moss Side, Harpurhey and Wythenshawe, with further outreach planned through six smaller neighbourhood hubs. In Leeds, the main hub at Barca Leeds in Bramley is supported by satellite sites in the south and east of the city.

Birmingham's hub will initially operate from a temporary base at the Library of Birmingham before moving to a permanent site on Cannon Street from summer 2026. Bristol's hub is centred at Full Circle Docklands, with a connected network across five venues. In Tower Hamlets, the hub is based at Haileybury Youth Centre.

In some areas, the hubs will work alongside new multi-agency Young Futures Panels, which bring together police, children's services, schools and community organisations to identify vulnerable children early and refer them to appropriate support before problems escalate.

Knife crime strategy

Policing Minister Sarah Jones said knife crime "devastates lives" and pledged that the hubs would play a key role in diverting young people from violence. "Behind every statistic is a child who didn't make it home, a family whose world has been shattered, and a community left with fear," she said.

Youth and Civil Society Minister Stephanie Peacock said the hubs were a direct response to what young people had told the government they needed: "somewhere to go, something to do, and someone who cares". She added that keeping young people safe and away from crime "starts with making sure they have the right support around them".

The hubs will also establish links with Department for Work and Pensions Youth Hubs to support transitions for older participants moving towards employment.