Liberal Democrats will build a brighter future for young people in Manchester and Salford

Liberal Democrat candiate for Blackley and Broughton, Iain Donaldson, has welcomed proposals to more than double spending on youth services in Manchester and Salford from £ 4,800,000 to £ 10,583,442 to help tackle rising levels of crime/knife crime.

This would form part of a total ring-fenced fund of over £ 64 million for Local Authorities across England to spend on youth services, providing young people with positive, safe and healthy alternatives to gangs.

Under the Conservatives, council spending on youth services has been cut by £300 million - or 40 per cent - since 2015 across England, whilst knife crime has risen by 80% over the same period, with a record high of 47,500 offences recorded in the year to June 2019. Research by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Knife Crime has found the areas with the biggest cuts to youth services have seen some of the biggest increases in knife crime.

Knife crime has risen by 80% and homicides by 26% between 2015 and 2018. Police recorded over 47,500 offences involving knives or sharp instruments in England and Wales in the year to June 2019. The Liberal Democrats would take a public health approach to tackling youth violence, modelled on the successful approach taken by Scotland's Violence Reduction Unit. This would involve identifying risk factors and treating them early on, with youth workers, police, teachers, health professionals and social services all working closely together to prevent young people falling into gangs and violence.

The Strathclyde Police established Scotland's Violence Reduction Unit in 2005. The unit works with health, education and social work agencies to bring about long-term societal change and provide those involved with gang crime a positive alternative. Violent crime in Scotland has halved over the past decade while in Glasgow, while the number of hospital admissions for stabbings has fallen by 62%.

Iain Donaldson stated that "Too many people in Manchester and Salford feel unsafe walking down their own streets, but for years, Conservative and Labour Governments have been competing to seem tough on crime, without doing enough to actually prevent it. With a Liberal Democrat government, young people will have the support and opportunities they deserve, our local communities will be stronger and people here will feel safer."

For more information visit:

www.preventknifecrime.co.uk/news/

civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2018/05/24/tackling-knife-crime-in-scotland-10-years-on/