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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of open-access youth services.

As part of the Youth Review, announced in the 2020 Spending Review, we are assessing the level of provision of youth services across England. Findings from the Youth Review will be published at the time of the 2021 Spending Review.

The Youth Investment Fund remains a Manifesto commitment, designed to achieve levelling up across the country over the course of this parliament. In the 2020 Spending Review, £30 million of this was committed to the fund as capital investment for 2021-22. This will provide investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people in left behind places, so that they can access youth workers, and enjoy beneficial activities outside of school, including sporting and cultural pursuits. Plans for the remainder of the Youth Investment Fund will be announced at the 2021 Spending Review, based on findings from the Youth Review.