The mass closure of London youth clubs during the 2010s led to an increase in teenagers committing crimes and achieving worse GCSE results, a report published on Wednesday has suggested.
Pupils entitled to free school meals were worst impacted by the shutting down of the facilities, according to the research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
Around 30% of youth clubs in the capital closed between 2010 and 2019 as a result of cuts to local authority funding, the working paper from the IFS said.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan described the report as “damning”.
“It shows the hugely negative impact that more than a decade of cuts by the previous Government has had on our young people,” he added.
“We need to be supporting our next generation and helping those who need it the most, not taking opportunities away from them.
“That’s why I’m committed to investing in London’s youth clubs, youth workers and mentors, and creating up to 250,000 more positive opportunities for young people.
“This includes further funding through my Violence Reduction Unit for nearly 500 youth workers to develop leadership skills and better support young people.”
The IFS research compares offending rates and exam results among teenagers who live in an area where all local youth clubs within a 40-minute walk closed with those among teenagers whose nearest youth club stayed open.
Teenagers whose nearest youth club was closed went on to do worse in school, the study concluded.
Young people in London who lost access to a nearby youth club performed worse in their GCSE exams – a decline of roughly half a grade in one subject.
Test scores fell even more for pupils from lower socioeconomic backgrounds – who performed roughly more than a grade worse in one subject.
The IFS paper also found that those who lost access to a youth club were 14% more likely to commit a crime in the six years following closure.
The offending rate – the proportion of those aged 10 to 17 who commit a crime each year – went from 14 per 1,000 to 16 per 1,000.
Report author Carmen Villa, PhD student at the University of Warwick and enrichment student at the IFS, said: “Youth clubs provide support to teenagers that goes beyond recreation, offering mentorship, structured activities such as sports and music, and a safe space for socialising – resources many teens cannot find elsewhere.”
She added: “Public spending cuts in the 2010s led to the closure of 30% of youth clubs in London, and this research shows that this directly led to increased offending and worse GCSE outcomes, especially among those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
“Overall, the societal costs of increased crime and lost education far outweigh the initial savings from youth club closures.”
Arooj Shah, chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “Youth services provide essential support to young people, providing them with a safe place, trusted relationships, attracting them away from being drawn into negative situations and reducing demand for acute services as a consequence.
“Councils have a statutory duty to provide educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people, yet these services are facing significant challenges for a number of years due to reductions in funding from central government and an increase in demand for child protection services.”
