Tower Hamlets gang 'E3 Massive' pic: London Street Gangs

Lewisham, Croydon, Hackney and Tower Hamlets are due to benefit from a government grant aimed at ending gang and youth violence.

On Monday the government identified 22 areas that have particular problems with gangs or serious youth violence. £10 million of Home Office funding has been allocated to support these places.

Lewisham will receive £248,529, Hackney will get £211,351 and Tower Hamlets will be given £258,697.

Croydon is set to benefit from £344,434, the biggest sum allocated to a London area.

Home Secretary Theresa May said: “We are providing practical help and support to those communities most affected by gang and youth violence.

“The aim is to help local areas themselves understand the specific problems they face and to develop local and effective solutions.”

However Heidi Alexander, MP for Lewisham East, said much more needs to be done to fully address the issue of youth violence.

She told EastLondonLines: “Whilst I welcome any resources that are dedicated to tackling youth violence, it’s important to remember that the money that the Government has announced this week is a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed.

“Next year the government will spend over £50 million on elections for police commissioners. They will spend less than half of this amount on tackling serious youth violence.

“If David Cameron and Nick Clegg really wanted to address the problems of gangs and knife crime they would scrap their misguided plans for directly elected police commissioners and would put the money into local projects which have a proven track record of giving young people an alternative to gangs.

“It’s also worth remembering that this isn’t additional money, it’s just money that has been reallocated from previously announced early intervention funding – a point that Theresa May herself acknowledged under questioning in the Commons last month.”

The funding allocation follows the Ending Gang and Youth Violence report, commissioned by the Prime Minister after the August riots, and published in November. The report detailed how the £10 million would be used to support areas worst affected by gang and youth violence.