Oral Answers to Questions

Ayoub Khan Excerpts

Thursday 26th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray]

The hon. Member makes a great point, and I congratulate to his father on being the professional at St Annes cricket club—I think he said that it was in 1973. If the hon. Member gets in trouble for saying that, I have just said it as well.

We know our cricket clubs and all our sports clubs are right at the heart of our communities. We want them to thrive and they should be thriving. This Government are fully committed to ensuring that all our sports clubs thrive. It is not just about enjoying that cricket with a cold beer, as the hon. Member says he does and like many hundreds of thousands do every Saturday, but about young people being involved and the way in which that takes them into the future of work and sport.

[Ayoub Khan (Birmingham Perry Barr) (Ind)]

6. What steps her Department has taken to help improve youth services in Birmingham Perry Barr constituency.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy)]

In December, we published “Youth Matters”, the first national youth strategy that this country has had in nearly two decades. The youth investment and better youth spaces funds have together invested three quarters of a million pounds in youth services in Perry Bar, and we have recently announced an additional £100,000 of funding for Birmingham to undertake preparatory work for the Young Futures hub and local youth transformation.

[Ayoub Khan]

I know that I would not be in this House—the mother of all democracies—and I would certainly not be a barrister, if I had not benefited from youth centres in my ward of Aston. I recognise how important they are. We have lost somewhere in the region of 50 youth workers in Birmingham and my constituency lost out on the Pride in Place funding, which was £20 million that we could have benefited from. Given the importance of youth centres, the loss of Oakland youth centre and the risk of closure of Lozells Recreation Group, will the Secretary of State meet me and representatives of youth clubs in my constituency to see how we can ensure that that service remains in my area?

[Lisa Nandy]

I absolutely share the hon. Member’s assessment about the vital role of youth provision and the devastating impact that the 73% cuts to youth provision under the last Government made to the life chances of young people. The Sport Minister will be more than happy to meet him to discuss that issue.