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The Home Office rejected 63% of bids for cash to divert children away from knife crime and violence, as demands for resources to combat rising serious violence outstripped the available funds.

Ministers have denied funds to dozens of projects for vulnerable young people that bid for cash from the flagship ‘Early Intervention Fund’.

The Home Secretary announced the £22m fund last spring to make funding available for “critical support” to “steer young people away from serious violence”.

But the department has rejected over 63% of the 111 bids received from Police and Crime Commissioners for the projects.

In London alone, 34 bids were submitted by Mayor Sadiq Khan, but just 10 projects were approved.

The full £22 million allocated for the fund has been spent by ministers.

This compares to 43 summer projects being funded by the Mayor of London this summer alone.

(Image: PA)

The fund comes after a decade of austerity has left Britain’s youth services poorly funded.

The government has cut £880m from children and youth services since 2010.

Research by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Knife Crime revealed a 51% drop in the number of youth centres supported by local authorities since 2011 and a 42% drop in youth service staff over the same period.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has said that “intervening early in the lives of vulnerable young people” was a “central part” of the governments’ plan to tackle serious violence.

The Home Secretary had previously promised to do “everything in his power to tackle county lines exploitation” where children are trafficked by gangs across the country to sell drugs.

But The Mirror understands that among the rejected bids was a £1.3m request from West Mercia, Staffordshire and Warwickshire’s Police and Crime Commissioners for a fund designed to tackle the spread of the phenomenon.

In total, the scheme is currently funding 40 diversion projects nationwide.

(Image: Internet Unknown)

But Labour warned that more cash was needed for the problem, and said the rejected bids raised serious questions over the Government’s early intervention efforts.

Labour’s Shadow Policing Minister Louise Haigh MP said: “With so many vital projects for vulnerable youngsters cruelly denied funds, it’s clear the Home Secretary’s pledge to do all he can to tackle serious youth violence is just another empty promise.

“Youth violence is surging and many parents will rightly be asking; what exactly does it take for this government to act?”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Our Early Intervention Youth Fund of £22m is supporting 40 projects endorsed by Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales.

“This comes after the Home Secretary announced 11 new projects that would receive funding to help work with children and young people at risk of criminal involvement, gang exploitation or county lines.

“The successful bids were selected using a rigorous process including looking at levels of violent crime and emerging risks.”