The Government established the Youth Taskforce to prevent and tackle the antisocial and offending behaviour which can blight communities and ruin lives. The Youth Taskforce works across Government and with partners up and down the country to strengthen local delivery of services for the most challenging and vulnerable young people.
The current Youth Taskforce Programme Budget is £21.916 million in 2009-10, although this figure could change following completion of the Spring Supplementary procedure and should not be considered final. The indicative Youth Taskforce programme budget for 2010-11, reflected in the Department's Programme Budget Control System, is currently £12.296 million although it is expected to increase to approximately £22 million once funding for the cross-Government Youth Crime Action Plan is confirmed. The Youth Taskforce programme budget is one part of the broader cross-Government investment to tackle youth crime and antisocial behaviour.
The Youth Taskforce Action Plan and the Youth Crime Action Plan set out the Government's approach to preventing and tackling youth crime and antisocial behaviour. The Youth Taskforce is driving delivery of both Action Plans, working with more than 80 local authorities and their partners across the country to ensure that every area can deliver an appropriate response to the needs of vulnerable young people. The most recent Youth Taskforce Progress Report is available at:
www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/ytf
The work of the Youth Taskforce contributes to a continued reduction in the number of first-time entrants to the criminal justice system aged 10-17 (PSA 14), and in the number of people who consider young people hanging around to be a problem (British Crime Survey). There are ongoing evaluations of all Youth Taskforce programmes. Final reports are due in March 2011, and will be published thereafter.