£28 million to support children and young people

The government has announced that ten projects across England that support disadvantaged children and young people will receive over £28 million, as part of the second round of the Life Chances Fund.

Minister for Sport and Civil Society Tracey Crouch said that the projects, which are Social Impact Bonds, meaning Social Investors provide projects with up front funding and are reimbursed by government only when projects meet agreed results, will help young people into employment and reduce the number of days young people spend in care.

Among those receiving funding is Sheffield City Council, which will receive £19,294,766, the largest amount of money from the Life Chances fund, to set up a local projects to help tackle mental health and well-being issues, as well as tackling homelessness and youth unemployment.

Elsewhere, Norfolk County Council will receive £1,238,512 to reduce the number of days children and young people spend in care, the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham will receive up to £540,000 to reduce the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea will receive £252,900 to narrow the gap in school readiness between vulnerable children and their better off peers.

Crouch said: “The Life Chances Fund is helping transform lives across the country and I am looking forward to seeing how these fantastic projects use this funding to benefit children and young people, teaching them valuable life skills.”