Labour and Co-operative MP for Rochdale Paul Waugh has welcomed news that the town will get a new Young Futures Hub, bringing mental health support, skills and employment routes, sport, creative activities and crime prevention into one place for local young people.
The hub will serve young people aged 10 to 18, and up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities, as part of the Government’s National Youth Strategy, Youth Matters. The strategy was launched by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and co-produced with 14,000 young people. It is backed by more than £500 million of government investment aimed at rebuilding youth services over the next decade.
Rochdale Borough Council will also receive support through the Local Youth Transformation programme to strengthen leadership, train the workforce and build lasting local partnerships.
Waugh: ‘Investment in young people locally’
“I’m delighted that Rochdale will be receiving a new Young Futures Hub. This is a really important investment in young people locally, and it means they will have better access to the support, opportunities and safe spaces they need to thrive,” Waugh said.
He said that despite years of austerity and deep cuts to council budgets, Rochdale had worked hard to keep youth provision going when many other areas lost theirs, but that a decade of funding cuts had still taken its toll.
“This new investment will help us turn that around,” he said. “The new Young Futures Hub will bring together mental health support, skills and employment opportunities, sport, creative activities and crime prevention, making it easier for young people to get the right support in one place.”
Nandy said Young Futures Hubs give young people “somewhere to go, something to do, and someone to talk to” after thousands told the Government those were the basics they needed.
The Government is investing £70 million between 2026/27 and 2028/29 to establish Young Futures Hubs and deliver Local Youth Transformation projects, including capital funding for each hub and annual operating support. Rochdale is among dozens of local authorities in the next wave, following eight early adopter hubs.
