The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan this week announced that he is creating a brand new £45million fund to help young Londoners – particularly those who are at risk of getting caught up in crime. It should be the Government’s job to fund services and activities for young people in London, but it has abdicated its responsibilities. That’s why the Mayor has listened to Londoners’ concerns and is stepping up to provide funding that local communities and charities desperately need and to help young people fulfil their potential.
Sadiq’s new Young Londoners Fund will see £15m invested in each of the next three years, beginning from April.
Of the total new funding:
- £10million a year will make up a new fund into which local communities, charities and schools will be able to bid for funds
- £5million a year will be invested to scale up existing projects funded from City Hall that are already supporting young Londoners
In London, Government cuts over the last eight years have hit young people hard. As a result, councils have been left with no choice but to slash more than £22m from youth services since 2011, closing 30 youth centres, with at least 12,700 places for young people lost.
