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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve the availability of activities for young people during (a) evenings, (b) weekends and (c) school holidays.

In 2025/26, DCMS is investing £28 million to increase young people’s access to more and better enriching activities. This includes programmes such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Uniformed Youth Fund. As part of the Uniformed Youth Fund, DCMS funded the Volunteer Police Cadets to increase its capacity and reach a greater number of young people in Fylde.

DCMS is also investing £8 million to support local authorities through the Local Youth Transformation Pilot, which aims to rebuild a high-quality offer for young people across England.

Additionally, the Department for Education has confirmed over £600 million for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme for the next three financial years (from 2026/27), delivered by local authorities to provide healthy meals, enriching activities, and free childcare places to children from low-income families during school holiday periods.

In Autumn, we will publish the National Youth Strategy, which we have co-produced with young people and the sector. The Strategy will outline a long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.