New research, shared with Channel 4 News, suggests that children directly affected by violence are twice as likely to regularly attend youth clubs as those who have not.
By Ria Chatterjee and Jamie Roberton
Any deeper cuts to youth services as a result of a crisis in council funding will lead to increased risk for young people, the government has been warned.
New research, shared with Channel 4 News, suggests that children directly affected by violence are twice as likely to regularly attend youth clubs as those who have not.
The Youth Endowment Fund said its research was the first to “establish a clear link between vulnerability to violence and youth club attendance” as it called for sustained funding for services.
The government has pledged to halve knife crime within a decade, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer describing the issue as a “national crisis.”
Funding for youth services, provided by councils in England and Wales, plummeted by 73% between 2010/11 and 2022/23, according to research by the charity YMCA.
Councils still face a wider funding gap of more than £2 billion next year, the Local Government Association has said, warning any further cuts would “be disastrous.”
Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister, said “there can be no sticking plasters” on the issue of knife crime, adding that the government was working to “pioneer a Young Futures Programme” to safeguard children at risk of being drawn into crime.
Birmingham City Council effectively declared itself bankrupt in September 2023 and is now in the process of cutting more than £300 million from services.
The city’s youth services face being substantially stripped back, with proposals suggesting staff headcount could be more than halved from 67 to 23 and multiple youth centres closed.
One youth worker, speaking anonymously to the Birmingham Mail, said: “We are abandoning young people – this is a powder keg that will eventually explode and we will look back on this as the catalyst.”
The West Midlands remains the knife crime capital of England and Wales, with the highest rate of offences recorded anywhere in the country.
The conviction of two 12-year-old boys – the country’s youngest ever knife murderers – has been among the violent cases in the region to generate national headlines.
“We’re in a vicious cycle here,” Bishop Dr Desmond Daddoo, a local community leader, told Channel 4 News.
“The councillors will say it is the cuts – I will say it is the adults and their inability to manage our city that is damaging our youngsters.”
“The bottom line is why should our young people suffer just because our politicians, our leaders have failed to do their job – no-one has taken responsibility for what has happened here in Birmingham.”
Essence Youth Mentoring, based at The Lighthouse in Aston, has been forced to adapt its services due to budget cuts, with the number of young people attending its main service falling from 170 to 30.
“A shortage of staff means our clubs are having to close earlier,” Natina-Mae Whitter, a director at Essence Youth Mentoring, said.
“We’ve heard [from young people], ‘where do you see yourself in five years? I don’t see myself past 15’ – we don’t want to hear that.”
A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said no final decisions had yet been made on the proposals and councillors were committed “to retaining a local authority youth service.”
The report into youth club attendance is part of what has been described as one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date analyses of youth violence.
The study, based on a survey of 10,000 children aged 13 to 17 in England and Wales, also found:
Violence was found to be concentrated on those persistently absent or excluded from school, the Youth Endowment Fund said, with children involved with social services and vulnerable to exploitation also at particular risk.
The anxiety from youth services over future ability to prevent violence comes as the National Police Chiefs’ Council warns that the government’s settlement for funding “will inevitably lead to cuts across forces.”
The Metropolitan Police confirmed to Channel 4 News on Tuesday that 370 specialist officers based in schools across London will be axed.
A spokesperson for Birmingham Council said:
“We’re in consultation with colleagues at present and it will be early in the new year before we are able to articulate the final future delivery model.
“No decisions have been made nor will they be made until the consultation, including that with youth service colleagues is completed.
Unlike many areas of the country, Birmingham City Council is committed to retaining a local authority youth service and several centres for direct delivery, plus a range of Voluntary & Community Sector organisations and partnership delivery for others.”
Dame Diana Johnson, Minister for Crime and Policing, told Channel 4 News:
“There can be no sticking plaster policies when it comes to keeping young people safe from crime. We must reform the current system to focus on prevention and intervene earlier in their lives, offering them more opportunities.
There are some amazing initiatives in place already, and today’s report shows some of the positive impacts they are having, but it is not consistent across the country. What we need is the dedication, drive and resource that has been so lacking from the centre over the past decade.”