Unpacked – Ben Carpenter: what should youth services look like?
From The Bristol Cable by The Bristol Cable
June 8, 2026 · 60 min · Season 16 · Episode 3
About this episode
The episode discusses the state of youth services in the UK and the government's recent investment plans with guest Ben Carpenter.
In December the government announced plans to invest £500m in the country’s youth services – which were gutted during austerity – and create 50 major new and revitalised youth hubs – including at Docklands in St Paul’s. Shockingly this is the first time there has been a national youth strategy in a couple of decades. Our guest today is a man who – like your host Neil – has a long history of working with young people. He’s the outspoken Ben Carpenter, founder and CEO of local youth and community organisation Grassroot Communities . The pair reflect on the state of youth services, and whether the government’s plans go far enough. We get into the massive new Youth Zone opening in south Bristol this month – what are the pros and cons of these kinds of places? And with young people facing massive challenges from financial insecurity to online harms to knife crime, we ask what services should be there for them in an ideal world. Enjoy… The Bristol Cable is Bristol's community-owned cooperative newsroom – fiercely independent journalism that puts people before profit. Since 2014, we've been holding power to account through investigative reporting, community campaigns, and democratic…
People in this episode
Host: Neil
Guest: Ben Carpenter
Topics covered
- youth services
- government investment
- community organizations
- youth challenges
- Bristol youth hubs
Keywords
- youth services
- government plans
- Bristol
- community
- financial insecurity
- knife crime
- youth hubs
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Grassroot Communities
Places: Bristol, Docklands, St Paul’s, south Bristol
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