Our statement on the Mayor of London’s £25 million Young Londoners Fund announcement
12 February 2020
The Mayor of London has announced an additional £25 million investment in the Young Londoners Fund. You can read our statement below.
London Youth welcomes the announcement of new investment of £25 million to build on the Young Londoners Fund (YLF). We have championed additional YLF investment on behalf of London’s voluntary youth sector, which is particularly important for those operating in boroughs where local authority youth service funding has been reduced to as little as £3 per young person.
We are pleased the Mayor recognises the need to tackle the complex underlying causes of violent crime in the capital, as well as tackling crime itself through investment in policing and other violence reduction initiatives. London Youth sees first-hand the root causes that predominantly result in young people becoming involved in and affected by violence. Poverty and a lack of positive employment opportunities are key drivers, especially for black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi young men who face additional barriers and disadvantage.
The Mayor highlights funding for community groups as part of a hyper-localised approach to violence reduction, which we strongly support. Investment in grass-roots community youth organisations, as well as the trusted relationships they hold with young people, is key to levelling the playing field and supporting all young Londoners into positive and sustained employment.
Previous YLF funding was accessed by a fifth of our 500+ members and was a lifeline to enable their youth service provision to continue for the thousands of young people they work with. We hope many others in the youth sector, particularly those long-standing community-based organisations, can benefit this time around.
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