But although Tony Blair said his Government would "invest in our youth services", ministers warned that the term "youth services" was used loosely.
Phil Hope, minister for skills at the Department for Education and Skills, told Young People Now: "We are no longer talking about youth services in the traditional sense. Youth services in that 60s sense are not part of the agenda and they've been proved not to work."
Hazel Blears, Home Office minister responsible for tackling antisocial behaviour, said: "The kind of people we are trying to deal with won't necessarily want to come to a youth club. We have to be more inventive about how we provide our youth service, as well as putting in more money."
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