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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of youth councils on young people.

We recognise the important role youth councils can play in young people’s lives and youth services. This includes empowering them to propose ideas, connecting them with local decision-makers, and enhancing a sense of community belonging and connection.

Each youth council is different to reflect the needs of the local area or setting. Youth councils assist government and local authorities in designing services and support that meet their needs. The best youth councils are invited to co-create youth provision or wider services focused on young people locally, ensuring public money is spent wisely in a way that addresses their needs.

This year, DCMS is running the Local Youth Transformation Pilot which will support local authorities to build back capacity in the youth space and improve local youth offers.

DCMS is committed to enabling effective youth empowerment, involving young people in decision making at all levels. We are co-producing the National Youth Strategy in partnership with young people, drawing together the voices of over 14,000 young people who engaged in the National Youth Strategy Survey. We will publish the National Youth Strategy later in the year.