Young Futures Hubs

Baroness Tyler of Enfield Excerpts

Thursday 24th July 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Tyler of Enfield]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential of Young Futures Hubs to improve crime prevention; and what steps they are taking to ensure that access is not stigmatising for young people seeking support for mental health.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Baroness Smith of Malvern) (Lab)]

My Lords, through improving support and intervening early, Young Futures hubs will help create opportunity for all and keep our streets safe. They will bring together vital local services in the community, ranging from well-being and mental health support to careers advice, on an open access and referral basis. Backed by £2 million, eight early adopter hubs will launch this year, with local codesign involving young people. This will inform the future rollout of an expected 50 hubs.

[Baroness Tyler of Enfield (LD)]

I thank the noble Baroness. I have been a firm supporter of early support hubs since their inception. I was delighted to visit the Hive hub in Camden on Monday and greatly impressed by what I saw. But the recent government announcement framed Young Futures hubs very much as a crime prevention initiative, despite the commitments in the manifesto and the NHS 10-year plan that these hubs will provide open access drop-in mental health support for children and young people. Does the Minister agree with me, and with some of those I have spoken to in the sector, that framing these services as crime prevention risks stigmatising some young people and could deter them from accessing support before they even walk through the door?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I think the noble Baroness would agree that there are many common risk and protective factors that can underlay a range of poor outcomes for young people, including mental health challenges and the potential to go off the rails and into crime. That does not mean there is a causal link between mental ill-health and crime. What we are clear about, with respect to the Young Futures hubs, is that whatever their needs, it is essential that children and young people can access support via the hubs without fear of stigma. They need to be welcoming places where all young people want to go for a positive experience. That is why one of the key principles of the hubs is that they will be open access as well as targeted. In doing that, they will provide a safe space to offer more specialist interventions for those who need it, including evidence-based support for children and young people with mental health needs.