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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the review his Department has launched into statutory guidance for local authorities on providing youth services, whether he plans to (a) allocate funding and (b) issue guidance as a result of that review.

Local authorities are responsible for allocating public funding to youth services in their area. We believe they are best placed to know what is required in their communities.

On 10th July this year, my department launched the review of the guidance which sets out the statutory duty placed on local authorities to provide appropriate local youth services. Preliminary roundtables were held with youth sector organisations and young people through the Government’s Youth Steering Group, focussing on the strengths and weaknesses of the current guidance. A public call for evidence as the next step of this process will be announced in due course.