Ed Balls MP, Labour’s Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, has visited the Castlehaven Community Association in Camden to see how local council cuts will affect their services.

The Association’s youth club, The Haven, is facing a 56 per cent cut from the current Lib Dem council that will severely reduce their youth provision.

As the only youth club in the second most deprived area in Camden, The Haven provides an invaluable service to the young people in the area.

Ed Balls and Labour’s Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, have pledged to boost youth provision in London by £79 million as part of the London Youth Offer.

Ed Balls said: “Castlehaven is a really impressive facility. It’s opening every night of the week at the moment for 14 to 19-year-olds.

“But with the cuts, this excellent facility will have to close some evenings and that will be a real step backwards because we’re wanting around the country and here in London more youth facilities on offer.

“While we’re putting money in from a Labour Government nationally and locally, you’ve got here Liberal and Tory councils cutting the budgets.”

Francis Shank, who runs the youth centre, said: “Last year we got over £50,000. This year the funding was cut by over 50 per cent.

“We’ve not really had a proper explanation of why we’ve been cut, and it’s quite vital that we get that funding because we’re in a really high crime area.

“A lot of the young people that access the service are coming from families with unemployment and low achievement, so it’s really vital that we find that extra money. We’re going to lose staff because of it.”