A study commissioned by youth charity OnSide, which establishes large “Youth Zone” centres for 8- to 19-year-olds, found that the average annual cost of operating them was £1.31m but they deliver an average “social value” of £2.66m.
Onside said the research it commissioned used the latest social impact measurement tools that are consistent with those used by HM Treasury.
The charity currently has six Youth Zones, with two more set to open in 2016 and a further 12 in the pipeline.
The evaluation report, which looked into the costs and financial benefits of three centres in Greater Manchester, argues that return on taxpayers’ money is even higher because local authorities only cover 40 per cent of the running costs, with 50 per cent coming from the private sector, and 10 per cent from the facilities themselves.
It found that, on average the return on local authority investment was £6.66 for every £1 spent.
The Youth Zone in Wigan was found to have the greatest return on investment with £8.70 of benefits for every £1 spent by the local authority.
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