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<p>Local Authorities have a statutory duty to allocate funding to youth services in
line with local need. This is funded from the Local Government settlement, which was
over £12 billion last year. DCMS officials are currently reviewing the statutory duty
and its associated guidance to assess its effectiveness after a call for responses
from key youth stakeholders. We will publish the outcomes of the review in due course.</p><p>The
Government recognises the vital role that youth services and activities, including
of the type supported by the Staffordshire Council of Voluntary Youth Services, play
in improving the life chances and wellbeing of young people. The Government has committed
to a National Youth Guarantee: that by 2025 every young person will have access to
regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and volunteering opportunities.
This is supported by a three year £560 million investment in youth services, reflecting
young people's priorities and addressing the inconsistencies in regional youth spending,
with a firm focus on levelling up, including the £368 million Youth Investment Fund,
for which over 20 wards in Staffordshire are eligible to apply.</p><p>To support the
youth sector workforce, DCMS funds the National Youth Agency to set professional standards,
qualifications and a curriculum for youth work, including a new youth work apprenticeship
and free-to-access training, all of which are available to young people. DCMS has
delivered a Youth Worker Bursary Fund with the NYA since 2019, distributing approximately
£1.9 million facilitating over 1,700 individuals who would otherwise be unable to
afford it to undertake training in Level 2 and 3 Youth Work qualifications. A further
£1 million has been committed for FY 22/23.</p><p>Additionally, through the £7.4 million
Volunteering Futures Fund, DCMS has created thousands more volunteering opportunities
to improve accessibility of volunteering in the arts, culture, sports, civil society,
youth and heritage sectors. The fund is helping a diverse range of people to access
the benefits volunteering can bring. There is a strong focus on young people, those
experiencing loneliness, those with disabilities and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.</p><p>From
2023 onwards, the reformed NCS programme will offer a year-round choice of opportunities
to young people, with a focus on skill development and volunteering. NCS will work
with and fund a range of partners, including grassroots volunteering organisations,
to deliver the programme across the country.</p><p> </p>
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