Nick Hurd, minister for civil society, has launched a new £2m fund for charities working with vulnerable young people after meeting 25 former gang members at the charity Kids Company.

The new fund will be launched before the end of the year through the Centre for Social Action, a two-year £36m Cabinet Office programme to encourage volunteering and social action.

Hurd, who recently took up responsibility for youth policy, was invited by the Evening Standard to meet ex-gang members as part of its Frontline London campaign to help former gang members change their lives. 

At the meeting, reported in the Evening Standard yesterday, Hurd was strongly challenged by the young people, being asked why the government was spending £50bn on HS2 while failing to help people get out of gangs.

Another former gang member suggested Hurd was out of touch with the needs of young people, asking how he could decide how much to spend on youth policy if he had never met vulnerable youths to see for himself where spending was required. “We’re at the bottom of the pyramid. Down here people are woken by gun shots, car alarms, shouting. Its quiet up your side. No stress. No problems. Nice clean air. Your children have a different life. They wake up normal.”

Afterwards the meeting, Hurd told the Evening Standard that it had “not been easy” but that he found the young people “articulate and impressive,” announcing that he would launch a new fund to support charities working with gangs.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said details about the £2m fund would be available on the Centre for Social Action website towards the end of the year.