The Secretary of state has today announced appointments to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive

Good morning everyone.

Thank you very much for coming here to Number 10 today to discuss tackling the issue that is a top priority for government and for the organisations who are represented here around this table. But perhaps more important, it’s an issue that families, and young people and communities across the country, are concerned about and want to see us tackling.

And in the recent months we’ve seen an appalling number of young lives that have been cut short or devastated by serious violent crime, including a number of horrifying incidents which took place just over this weekend. And as we look at what’s happened of course what we also see is that in many cases the perpetrators of these crimes are as young as our victims. And this is something that has to be of deep concern to us all.

It is a challenge that collectively affects us as a society, and it is a challenge that as a society we need to rise up to and to act to deal with.

And not deal with as individuals in isolation – as single organisations or single politicians or individuals in the community – but actually dealing with it in a great, co-ordinated, wide-reaching and long-term effort. With all of us coming together to address this issue.

Of course we would always make sure that the resources and tools are there to be able to apprehend and deal with those who are carrying and using knives, and the police have what they need to do – but we cannot simply arrest ourselves out of this problem.

This is a wider problem. It’s more deep seated and we need to have a more coordinated effort in response to it.

If you think about it, if it was a devastating disease that was affecting young people yes, we would be treating the symptoms but we would also be asking ourselves the question of what is the underlying cause.

And that is that in relation to this issue we need to take the same approach to the cancer of serious youth violence.

It is more than just law enforcement.

And that is what this week’s summit is about. It’s about bringing together people from different aspects of society, with different responsibilities ,with different experience to ensure that we can build on the work that’s being done as in the Serious Violence Summit, and the Youth Endowment Fund, but also to make sure we come together in this multiagency, whole-community approach to serious youth violence.

And that’s where of course this approach, often referred to as the “public health approach”, is one of the things we want to be discussing this week.

That’s where everybody is working together across the system in multiple agencies – sharing information – but crucially making sure that every contact counts.

And to help make that happen, today we’ve launched a consultation on a public duty that would underpin such an approach.

I can also announce that we are setting up a new Ministerial Taskforce that will co-ordinate the government’s role and make sure all departments are playing their part. It needs, again, to be a collective approach across government as it is between government and other organisations.

And there will be a new Serious Violence Team which will be set up in the Cabinet Office as well which will have representatives from across government to ensure join-up, and will also be well-placed to assist local areas as they build operational equivalents in their own Violence Reduction Units.

In a moment I’ll ask the Home Secretary to talk a little more about the size and scope of the challenge we face and the work we have already undertaken to tackle it.

But first we will hear from some of the experts who have joined us today.

I’m grateful to everybody around the table because everybody has come with expertise and understanding and experience of this issue. We have sitting around the table people who have delivered transformational change and real reductions in violence across the UK and the US.

So let me introduce Professor Mark Bellis, from Public Health Wales, and Dr Jens Ludwig, from the Chicago and New York Data Labs. I know you’ve travelled to be here today so thank you – particularly to Dr Ludwig for travelling as far as you have to be with us here today. We want to be able to learn from you and I know that in the chat that I’ve had with Mark in the past about the different roles and the importance of the work that you’ve done, and we very much look forward to learning from both of you.

Nothing that is said today of course will bring back the young people whose lives have been so cruelly taken by serious violence.

But what we can do today is to send a very clear message that “this must stop” and a very clear message that collectively we will do everything we can to make sure that it stops.

And we can begin to shape this new approach that will meet the scourge of youth violence head on, so that more families are spared the unimaginable suffering that sadly too many families have endured in recent months.

So with that I’ll pass over to Jens.

The Government has renewed its commitment to use sport to support young people in serious violence hot spots, Jeremy Wright, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said today.

This afternoon Jeremy Wright chaired a roundtable with Minister for Sport and Civil Society Mims Davies, bringing together sports bodies, charities and creative organisations as part of the Prime Minister’s Serious Youth Violence Summit to tackle knife crime.

The Premier League said it will work in partnership with Government to increase one of its flagship community programmes, Premier League Kicks. Currently reaching 75,000 participants a year, the programme uses football to inspire young people to develop their potential and build stronger, safer communities.

Government will also work with a range of sports’ organisations including basketball, boxing and cycling and community-based sports charities to see what more they can do to use sport to engage young people in hard to reach areas.

Sport England, which invests more than £10 million in projects that use sport to support crime reduction, has also pledged to increase investment in sport and physical activity for children in hot spot areas. This will include increasing the number of sports ‘satellite’ clubs, which are held after school and at weekends for 14 to 19-year-olds and aim to bridge the gap between school, college and community sport. A total of 10,000 satellite clubs have been established in England, helping over half a million young people to get active.

Jeremy Wright, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: “Sport has the power to reach and connect people of all ages and backgrounds.

“We want to harness that power to encourage young people to choose positive activities that build confidence and key skills, rather than turn to crime and violence.

“Sports bodies already do excellent work in the community and we will work with the sector to expand sporting opportunities in youth crime hot spots to reach as many young people as possible.”

The Serious Youth Violence Summit in Downing Street will bring together over 100 attendees from a diverse range of backgrounds, including young people with experience living in communities impacted by serious violence, law enforcement, health, the voluntary sector, and businesses and education leaders.

Bill Bush, Premier League Executive Director, said: “The Premier League and our clubs recognise that young people today face huge pressures in their lives. Our education and social inclusion programmes engage thousands of youngsters every week in areas of high need. Working in partnership with a range of Government and third-sector organisations we are determined to use our popularity and reach to strengthen local communities. This includes working together with young people and supporting them in understanding how to deal with the very real dangers of gangs and knives.”

Nick Pontefract, Sport England Chief Operating Officer, said: “Sport and physical activity is a powerful and positive force for good in society. That’s why we welcome being part of the conversation at today’s serious crime summit. Sport builds a sense of community and social trust, provides role models, and new skills that can drive meaningful change. Yet we’ve only scratched the surface of its potential as a tool to engage young people at risk of being involved in knife crime. Now is a crucial time to ask what part sport and physical activity can play in tackling violence.”

The Prime Minister opened the Summit setting out proposals for a new legal duty to ensure public bodies, including hospitals, raise concerns about children at risk of becoming involved in knife crime.

The joined-up approach would ensure professionals in health, education, police, social services, housing, and the voluntary sector work together, and are held accountable for, preventing and tackling serious violence.

During the Summit the Prime Minister also confirmed plans to create a new Serious Violence Reduction Unit, based in the Cabinet Office, to continue to drive cross-government action.

The Prime Minister will also Chair a Ministerial Taskforce, within government, focussed on improving and better coordinating, our response to knife crime.

This will complement the existing Serious Violence Taskforce, set up as part of the Government’s Serious Violence Strategy, and Chaired by the Home Secretary, to bring together politicians from across parties, law enforcement and other agencies, regularly on this issue.

Government Ministers from across Whitehall will continue to chair a series of meetings throughout the week, harnessing expert knowledge to boost joint work and drive forward action in specific areas such as the justice system, healthcare and community support.

Government will work with sports organisations such as the Premier League and basketball, boxing and cycling bodies to increase sports activity in youth crime hot spots

Following a meeting of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) board where they agreed that there is a public interest in a statutory investigation, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, has agreed to use powers under the Financial Services Act 2012 to require the FCA to undertake an investigation into events at LC&F and the circumstances surrounding them.

The investigation will be led by an independent person appointed by the FCA, with the approval of the Treasury.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, said:

The recent stories of those affected by the collapse of LC&F are incredibly concerning.

I want to make sure we have the strongest and safest financial system possible. By ordering this investigation, we will better understand the circumstances around the collapse and make sure we are properly protecting those who invest their money in the future.

Separately, the FCA had already started an investigation into LC&F’s financial promotions. The Serious Fraud Office, working in conjunction with the FCA, has also opened an investigation into individuals associated with LC&F.

The detailed direction that will order the independent investigation and set out its terms will take into account any issues arising, including from current regulatory and enforcement investigations, and be determined in consultation with the independent person appointed to lead it.

The direction and the investigation’s report will be laid before Parliament.