'Every young person deserves the chance to thrive' - New Young Futures Hub to be set up in Blackpool

Young people across Blackpool and the Fylde coast will soon benefit from better access to mental health support, employment opportunities and crime prevention services as the government announces the expansion of its Young Futures Hubs programme today.

Young Futures Hubs will help young people tackle some of the biggest challenges they face today, from poor mental health and unemployment, to serious violence.

Alongside providing open access to sports, creative activities and trusted youth workers, each hub will bring together mental health support, skills and training, routes into employment, and crime prevention. It will ensure that young people aged 10 to 18 (up to 25 for those with SEND) can receive seamless, holistic support without having to repeat their story to a different service every time they visit.

New hubs will be set up in Blackpool and wider Lancashire after eight early adopter Young Futures Hubs were successfully set up in Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, County Durham, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and Tower Hamlets.

As part of the announcement the Government says a total of £70 million is being distributed to local authorities to establish Young Futures Hubs and deliver Local Youth Transformation projects between 2026/27 and 2028/29.

Up to £500,000 will be made available for each local authority delivering Local Youth Transformation projects, while up to £125,000 of capital funding will be made available for each Young Futures Hub for light touch refurbishments and/or digital projects and up to £300k will be made available per year for each Young Futures Hub to operate.

Making the announcement Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, confirmed today t42 new hubs will be established across England. They will each establish a Young Futures Hub, and receive further support through the Local Youth Transformation programme to strengthen leadership, train their workforce and build lasting local partnerships to deliver high quality youth services in their area.

She said: said: "Last year we spoke to thousands of young people who told us that they needed somewhere to go, something to do, and someone to talk to. That’s what these new Young Futures Hubs will give them. It is a symbol of this government wrapping their arms around young people, telling them we believe in their generation and that we know they can succeed.”

The programme is a key part of the government’s National Youth Strategy, Youth Matters, launched by Lisa Nandy in December 2025 and co-produced with 14,000 young people through a landmark ‘State of the Nation’ survey.

The survey highlighted that many young people have been left without access to safe, supportive environments or a community to belong to, while reliance on online interaction has grown in the absence of face-to-face opportunities.

Sarah Jones, Minister for Policing and Crime, said: “Every young person deserves the chance to thrive, no matter where they grow up. Young Futures Hubs will bring together trusted adults, positive opportunities and vital support in one place, helping young people access the services they need, when they need them.

“By stepping in earlier and connecting young people with the right support, these hubs will help prevent vulnerable children from being drawn into crime, build confidence and skills, and give more young people the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

“They are a vital part of our plan to halve knife crime, helping ensure young people get the support they need before problems escalate and lives are put at risk.”

The National Youth Strategy set out how young people will benefit from over £500 million of government investment, with an ambitious delivery plan to rebuild youth services over the next decade. The move is designed to hand power back to local communities, and allow young people to design services around the skills and opportunities they need to shape their futures.

Abbee McLatchie, Acting CEO at the National Youth Agency said: “We welcome the Government’s decision to extend funding for the Young Futures Hubs and Transformation Programme to more areas across England. The programme is already providing valuable evidence of the importance of youth participation in shaping local services, alongside the role of strong partnership working, targeted investment and better workforce planning in strengthening youth work provision.

“Expanding the programme will support more local authorities to meet their statutory duty and create a larger network of local Young Futures Hubs, providing coordinated, holistic support and early intervention for young people. Designed by and for young people, this further rollout will help ensure that more young people who are at risk of becoming NEET, vulnerable to harm or experiencing poor mental wellbeing receive timely support from a trusted adult in the right setting.”

The Young Futures Hubs are part of a major cross-government programme to support young people, including:

· £132 million being invested in the ‘Every Child Can’ programme funding in-person activities at weekends and in the holidays ahead of the upcoming social media ban on young people up to 16 years old.

· £22.5 million being invested in the Enrichment Expansion Programme, which will work with up to 400 schools in the most deprived areas of England to support them to meet the benchmarks set out in DfE’s new Enrichment Framework.

· The creation of Youth Hubs in over 360 locations so that all young people aged 16 – 24 – including those not on benefits – can access opportunities and wider employment support in every local area of Great Britain. Young Futures Hubs will support 10-18 year olds, while Youth Hubs will support 16-24 year olds to access employment, skills and wider opportunities. Young Futures Hubs and Youth Hubs will work with partners to ensure smooth transition between services where appropriate.

· The Halving Knife Crime Plan brings together action across Government and society to stop people turning to knife crime and to ensure that perpetrators are caught and brought to justice. In areas of high knife crime, where government has invested in new multi-agency Young Futures Panels, the panels will work together with Young Futures Hubs to ensure children at risk of knife crime are provided with the support they need.

· The Department for Culture, Media and Sport announcing over £400 million will be invested in new and upgraded local community sport facilities and a £10 million investment towards The King’s Trust’s new youth opportunity initiative backed by Goodwill Ambassador Sir Gareth Southgate, plus Sport England’s £250 million investment in youth sport and physical activity.

Further measures will be announced in the coming weeks, including as part of the government's response to the forthcoming review into young people and work, led by Alan Milburn.