Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she had with Cabinet colleagues on the implementation of the National Youth Strategy.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

On 10th December 2025, we published ‘Youth Matters’, the first cross-government Strategy for young people in England in 15 years. Backed by £500m of DCMS funding over the next 3 years, the Strategy will ensure every young person has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of.

We regularly engaged with Cabinet colleagues to develop the Strategy and are continuing to work closely to ensure successful delivery and sharing of evidence, including through interministerial meetings on the Young Futures Hubs and a thematic Value for Money review to better align government youth provision spending with the Strategy.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to introduce new duties on councils to deliver youth services.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

As set out in the National Youth Strategy, we will explore reviewing the current local authorities’ statutory duty for youth services and how to empower local authorities to better deliver on their responsibilities for youth services.

DCMS recognises the importance of ensuring that Local Authorities are appropriately supported to deliver safe and effective youth provision. DCMS has committed £70 million over the next three years to support local authorities to rebuild a high-quality offer for young people and create a network of 50 Young Futures Hubs.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to increase revenue funding for youth services.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy’ is a 10 year plan to ensure every young person across the country has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of.

The strategy is supported by more than £500 million in funding from DCMS over the next three years, including £150 million in revenue funding. Additionally, the government’s ‘Every Child Can’ programme is backed by £132.5m of dormant assets to break down barriers for disadvantaged young people to access to culture, sport and enrichment opportunities

Through working with philanthropists, social impact investors, and businesses to unlock match funding, we aim to increase the revenue funding available for youth services and support them further.