Eight young futures youth hubs aimed at giving young people support towards work and away from street crime are to open across England, ministers have announced.

The youth centres are supposed to help people aged up to 18 with employment advice, health and wellbeing, and are also aimed at preventing them from falling into a life of crime.

The centres will be based in Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, County Durham, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and Tower Hamlets and will bring together existing services under one roof.

There are growing concerns about the number of knives being carried by young people, with reports that children as young as seven have been caught carrying them.

Reform UK and the Tories have claimed offenders caught carrying knives are less likely to face prison under the government’s sentencing reforms.

The Home Office said knife homicides have fallen by more than a quarter over 15 months, and knife-point robberies and hospital admissions for stabbings were down by 10% and 11% respectively.

The move follows a general election pledge from Keir Starmer to create a new “Young Futures programme with a network of hubs reaching every community”.

Areas of high antisocial behaviour have been targeted for the first wave of the hubs.

Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, said: “The closure of over 1,000 youth centres since 2010 didn’t just take away facilities, it took away community, connection and opportunity for a generation. We are determined to rebuild that.

“These hubs are about more than bricks and mortar, they’re a statement that this government believes in young people and is investing in their futures.”

Young people aged between 10 and 18, as well as those with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) up to the age of 25, will be able to access services at the youth centres.

A government crackdown on knife crime due to launch this week.

On Thursday, a new national knife crime centre was opened in London, where policing experts will tackle offenders who sell and distribute weapons online, often referred to as the “grey market”.

According to figures from the Home Office, there was a 27% decrease in knife-enabled homicides from 237 in the year ending June 2024 to 174 in September 2025.

Surrender schemes, bans on zombie-style knives, machetes and ninja swords since the election have led to 57,726 knives and weapons being handed in, the Home Office said.

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative party leader, questioned the government’s plans to reduce knife crime earlier this week. “I believe that the thing that will bring down crime is people knowing that they will be caught and punished,” she said.