Every young person needs somewhere to go, something to do and someone to speak to. For many young people, their local youth club is the only safe space they have to get the support they need. However, after eight years of austerity, many parts of our country now have no recognisable youth services at all.

A major flaw in the current system is that there is no legal requirement placed on local authorities to provide youth centres, outreach and after-school activities. The localised nature of provision has also led to huge variation in spending across the country, and because councils have seen their budgets cut by 50% these essential services have been the first to go. Cash-strapped councils have also moved from offering a universal service for all young people to targeting provision towards only the most vulnerable.

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The scale of cuts cannot be overstated. Research conducted by the YMCA found that overall spending on youth services in England has fallen by £737m (62%) since 2010. Between 2012 and 2016, 600 youth centres closed, 3,500 youth workers lost their jobs and 140,000 places for young people went. New analysis by the House of Commons library shows that spending on universal youth services has fallen by 52% in real terms since 2012. It is testament to our voluntary sector that provision has not completely collapsed under the weight of these cuts.

This is having a devastating impact on young lives across the country. In 2016, Unison asked youth workers about the impact of youth service cuts; 83% said they were having an effect on crime and antisocial behaviour, and 71% said it was now harder for young people to stay in formal education.

The Labour party is committed to ensuring that every young person has the opportunity to succeed, which is why today we are announcing a bold new vision for youth services. We want to introduce new legislation that requires every local authority across England to provide a minimum level of support for young people. To ensure that provision is tailored to the needs of each community, local authorities would be required to establish a local youth service partnership with young people, parents, professionals and councillors. This local partnership would be responsible for providing strategic leadership, assessing provision in that area and publishing a local youth strategy.

To make this happen, the next Labour government will establish a national body with dedicated ring-fenced funding to oversee youth-service provision across England. This body will work with all local youth-service partnerships, review local youth strategies, monitor and distribute funding, and advise on professional and service standards. We will also create a national strategy for youth work and a charter that is underpinned by law, which will define what the sufficient level of youth services will be.

This will require a sustainable funding model to reverse years of Tory cuts. Part of that will be a discussion about resources, and I will be working closely with the shadow Treasury team in developing the final proposals that will emerge from the consultation. As with our last manifesto, we will be clear and transparent about where all the funding for our additional spending commitments will come from.

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However, we cannot allow the enormity of this task to deter us when we know the benefits are so great. Youth work can act as an extension to the formal classroom by helping young people to enhance their readiness for learning and develop the skills needed for employment. Good-quality youth services can also prevent young people from being exploited by gangs and falling into a life of crime. Various studies have shown the economic benefit of investing in youth work. For example, a 2016 study in Scotland estimated a return of £7 of value for every £1 spent on youth work.

It is shameful that this Conservative government has failed to recognise the value of youth work. And by consciously destroying the whole infrastructure of youth services, they have only shifted the burden on to other public services. Rising levels of mental-health problems, substance abuse and antisocial behaviour will only increase pressures on statutory services. We can no longer sit back and allow the Tories to fail our young people.

• Cat Smith is Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood with portfolio for youth affairs