The government’s Better Futures fund will change lives in Blackpool
This month, as the academic year draws to a close, I’ve been thinking a lot about our young people and their futures. Just last week I wrote about why now is the time to back our young people. A few days before that I shared my reflections on an apprenticeship scheme I had visited that gave our young people real world prospects. And earlier this month I got the Prime Minister to commit to more well-paid jobs for our young people.
Now the government has announced a landmark fund to improve the outcomes of children in England – the biggest of its kind anywhere in the world.
The landmark Better Futures Fund will be managed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, with support from groups like Save the Children UK and The King’s Trust. It’s a powerful partnership aiming to break down the barriers holding our children back.
It’s a real investment of £500 million from the government over the next ten years, plus more from local councils, social investors and charities. Together, the investment in our young people’s futures is expected to reach £1 billion. It’s the biggest fund of its kind anywhere in the world, aiming to help up to 200,000 children and young people who need support the most.
The money will be channelled into Social Outcomes Partnerships – bringing together councils, charities, local businesses, social enterprises and others who already have the expertise and local knowledge and know what our children need. They’ll work on areas such as education, crime and employment – the core challenges our young people face.
“Blackpool faces real challenges but we finally have a government who gets us, and who understands that when Blackpool succeeds, Britain succeeds.”
The fund will back projects that keep children in school, improve their behaviour and help them learn better. That’s the kind of early support that changes lives. It will pay for programmes that break the cycles of addiction and crime, meaning fewer young people heading down the wrong path and more chances for them to turn things around.
The funding will be tied to real results in areas like better attendance and fewer reoffending rates so we’ll know the money is making a difference in people’s lives.
Blackpool faces real challenges but we finally have a government who gets us, and who understands that when Blackpool succeeds, Britain succeeds. I’ll be fighting our corner to ensure our children and young people – who face some of the biggest challenges – get their fair share of this funding. We need this investment to make sure our kids aren’t left behind. It’s about giving them a chance to build a future.
Labour is already doing things to help – expanding free school meals to half a million more children in low-income families, fixing crumbling schools, and funding childcare so more parents can work or train. This fund builds on that good work.
It’s time we give our young people the support they deserve.
