OPINION - What happened when London's youth clubs shut

The IFS paper found that those who lost access to a youth club were 14% more likely to engage in criminal activity in the six years following closure (Alamy/PA) -

Sometimes, the results of public policy interventions are uncertain. But a working paper published this week by the Institute for Fiscal Studies on how cuts to youth clubs affected teenage crime and education is not one of them.

Back in the prelapsarian world of 2009, 40 per cent of Londoners aged between 11 and 16 reported attending an after-school programme at least once a week. These were free youth clubs where teenagers could socialise outside of school hours, with access to youth workers, activities, workshops, often including music and sport.