5 days ago
PM announces eight hubs to open later this year, aimed at tackling knife crime
The prime minister has set out plans for a series of "Young Futures Hubs" to be opened later this year whilst attending a summit at St James' Palace hosted by the king.
The hubs are intended to bring together a series of services aimed at helping teenagers and young people at risk of being dragged into gang violence, knife crime, or facing mental health difficulties.
The intial launch will see eight hubs opened in areas with high levels of knife crime or antisocial beahviour. These will be opened and supported with an initiual two million pounds from the Treasury.
The government plan to open a total of 50 Young Futures Hubs over the course of their current term in office.
These hubs will run in tandem with a new pilot of "Prevention Partnership Panels," a system of multi-agency groups working to identify and refer vulnerable at risk teenagers to services like the Young Future Hubs. The government say more than 20 of these panels will be up and running in the coming months, across the areas of the country that collectively account for more than 80% of knife crime.
The prime minister made the announcement at a summit attended by King Charles, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and actor Idris Elba who has worked extensively in combatting knife crime.
The summit was also attended by members of the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime, set up at Downing Street last year, as well as families and victims of knife crime.
In a statement, the prime minister said his government was elected "on a pledge to tackle knife crime," and that they had already made progress in banning the sale of dangerous weapons.
'We are determined to do more to prevent vulnerable young people from turning to violence in the first place and open greater opportunities," Starmer said.
"As part of the Plan for Change, we will open up Young Futures Hubs across the country to stop teenagers from being dragged into crime and find a better future.'
The Home Secretary also called Tuesday's summit a "powerful reminder of what can be achieved when government, communities, and campaigners come together with a shared purpose."
Data: ONS
One of those in attendance was Kyle Shaw-Tullin, a Royal Marine Commando and Team GB boxer who was stabbed in Oldham, Greater Manchester, as a teenager.
He told attendees that getting back in the boxing ring after the attack helped keep him out of trouble.
'After getting stabbed, I really turned my life around, mainly because of my boxing coach. He was a great mentor for me.
'But boxing was so important because it meant six nights a week I weren't on the streets, I knew where I'd be.
'I'm not able to mess about – I'd be too tired to do anything else.'
The king said he was 'riveted' by Mr Shaw-Tullin's story, adding that it was 'quite a good point' about 'being too exhausted to get into trouble'.
The summit also saw discussions about the general issues facing young people today, with the prime minister telling campaigners he thought they were 'inspirational'.
He went on to say he found it, "really humbling that people who have been through some of the most horrendous ordeals are able then somehow to turn that around and channel it into work to help other people that they will probably never meet and never know."
He continued: 'I often ask myself, because we've got a 17-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, I often ask myself, how would I react? And I'm not sure I would have the courage and resilience that you have to do what you do for other people.'
Starmer also praised actor Idris Elba's 'brilliant' campaign against knife crime, called Don't Stop Your Future.
Speaking about the campaign, Idris Elba said whilst there had been 'milestones,' in tackling the issue, "we can't take our foot off the pedal," when it comes to their work.
'We've seen some things happen, and that's great.
'There's also been a small rise in knife crime at the same time, OK?
'And compared to the year before that rising knife crime might be less than the year before, but it was still a rise.
'So we can't take our foot off the pedal.
'We have to stay focused.'
The government claim to have implemented the "strongest controls" on dangerous knives, banning zombie-style knives and ninja swords, with plans to toughen up online sales. These include sanctions for tech executives who fail to remove illegal knife crime content from their platforms.
In September, the Prime Minister launched the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime, bringing together campaign groups, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders.
The Prime Minister will reconvene this group later in the year to update on the progress the Government has made during its first year in office.
