Last week’s budget included a stealth cut to funding for youth services worth more than £400m over the next three years, Labour has claimed. In his budget speech last Wednesday, Rishi Sunak said: “as we level up public services, we’re also levelling up communities – restoring the pride people feel in the places they call home. “To do that, we’re providing £560m for youth services, enough to fund up to 300 youth clubs across the country.” However, the Conservatives had already promised a £500m Youth Investment Fund in 2019; and the National Citizen Service, which provides young people with volunteering opportunities, has received an average of £178m over the past three years, according to Labour analysis. If the NCS continued to be funded at that level, and the £500m Youth Investment Fund was additional money, that would total more than £1bn over the next three years – almost twice Sunak’s announced figure. Separately, analysis by the House of Commons library carried out for Labour shows that public spending on services for young people in England has been cut by two-thirds in real terms over the past 10 years. Shadow minister for young people, Cat Smith, said: “with Conservative cuts year on year, it is no surprise we’ve seen a rise of anti-social behaviour alongside the huge challenge of violent crime and county lines. Youth services prevent serious youth violence that costs taxpayers and ruins young people’s lives.” “Given how much has been stripped away from youth services over the last decade by the Conservatives, this disguised cut from the government is likely to force many grassroots youth organisations to close.” As MPs continued to debate the budget in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Labour MPs accused Sunak of failing to make up for more than a decade of austerity – comparing his promise of new “family hubs,” to the more than 500 Sure Start centres scrapped since 2010, for example. A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport conceded that the £560m promised by Sunak would include the cost of running the pre-existing NCS, which was set up by David Cameron. “We are determined to give every child the best start in life and level up opportunity across the country,” they said. “Last week we announced plans to invest £560m to make sure youth services get the support they need. This includes funding the construction or refurbishment of up to 300 youth facilities in the most deprived areas of the country, and supporting the running of the NCS over the next three years.” The spokesperson also pointed to almost £5bn set aside for helping school pupils catch up with lost learning in the wake of the pandemic – though that is significantly less than was recommended by the government’s own adviser on the issue, , who quit in protest. Sunak’s third budget included a slew of spending promises, as the Conservatives seek to live up to their promise to “level up” neglected parts of the UK; but he also held out the prospect of tax cuts in the run-up to the next election.