Youth Services

(asked on 16th June 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the adequacy of the statutory provision of youth services.


Answered by
Matt Warman Portrait
Matt Warman
This question was answered on 24th June 2021

The Government recognises the transformational impact that youth services can have on the wellbeing of young people. This is even more crucial given the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and the important role of youth services in supporting them.

Local authorities are directly responsible for allocating public funding to youth services in their areas, and working with youth stakeholders, communities and young people are best placed to know what is needed in their communities.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has been reviewing the guidance which accompanies the statutory duty placed on Local Authorities to secure local youth services. Officials held consultations with the youth sector and young people, and ran a public call for evidence, which closed in December 2019. The conclusions of the review were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and are now being considered as part of a wider review of out of school youth programmes. The review will inform the future out of school offer for young people which will be set out at the 2021 Spending Review.

The Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment to level up access to youth services over the course of this Parliament. £30m of this has been committed as capital funding in 2021/22, to support investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people in left behind places.

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