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Sajid Javid’s pledge to pump £500 million into youth services is £380 million less than has been cut since the Tories came to power.

In real-terms £880 million has been slashed from spending on youth services in England since 2010, according to analysis of figures published by the Department for Education.

It amounts to 70% of spending across England.

The Chancellor is set to boast of his cash injection during his keynote speech to Tory conference in Manchester this afternoon.

The Youth Investment Fund will cost £500 million over five years, with £68m spent in 2020/21.

(Image: Getty Images)

Mr Javid said: “We need to do more to level the playing field between generations, and give all young people the best start in life.

“This ambitious fund will roll out youth centres and services right across our country, giving millions more young people opportunities to get ahead in life”.

Between 2010 and 2019, nearly nine out of ten (87 percent) of councils slashed spending on youth services by at least 50%, after they had their budgets squeezed by Tory cuts.

Half of councils cut spending per young person by over 75 percent.

It amounts to a £70 per child cut since 2010, on average.

Cat Smith MP, Shadow Minister for Youth Affairs, said: “It’s about time the government started to invest in our young people, however the Chancellor’s announcement falls far short from the funding needed to rebuild our decimated youth service.

“We cannot trust this government is serious about ending austerity and championing young people’s needs.

“Instead of quick fixes, Labour will match the ambition of our young people by giving them the support they need, so that every young person can access high quality youth work in their community.”

It's the second of the Tories' big ticket pledges to crumble within minutes of being announced.

Yesterday, Matt Hancock's headline pledge to build 40 new hospitals quickly unravelled, as it emerged only six would be built within the next five years - and some of those would be refurbishments rather than new builds.