As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people. This is funded from the local government settlement, which has been increased to £64 billion next year, with a further £500 million from central government dedicated to supporting children and adult social care in recognition of the pressures local authorities are facing.<\/p>
In September 2023, DCMS published updated statutory guidance to support local authorities\u2019 understanding of the existing duty and how to deliver it. Alongside this, DCMS funds a peer review programme for local authorities to learn from each other about the best approaches to youth service provision. We received positive feedback from the areas that have already taken part, and are supporting more areas this year.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4728", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-05-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-05-07T12:27:40.793Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "217"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-04-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Youth Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) consideration they have given, and (2) discussions they have had with key stakeholders, on setting sufficiency benchmarks for youth service provision.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3842", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Garden of Frognal"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness Garden of Frognal"} ], "uin" : "HL3976"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1690999", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Culture, Media and Sport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1690999/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Helping young people is one of my priorities. Our National Youth Guarantee ensures that by 2025 every young person in England will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and volunteering opportunities. This is supported by over £500 million of investment in youth services. We have also worked with local authorities and youth sector organisations to update the statutory guidance for local authorities\u2019 youth provision.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4032", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Stuart Andrew"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Pudsey"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Stuart Andrew"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-02-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-02-22T16:02:46.96Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "217"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-02-08", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Youth Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve access to youth services.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4871", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Christian Wakeford"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bury South"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Christian Wakeford"} ], "uin" : "901492"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1681609", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Culture, Media and Sport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1681609/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government recognises the vital role that youth services and activities play in improving the life chances and wellbeing of young people.<\/p>
While local authorities are responsible for ensuring young people can access youth services, the Government has worked closely with local authorities to update statutory guidance to support this delivery. The Government additionally provides significant funding to support youth services, with over £1.1 billion provided to the youth sector from DCMS In England between 2015 and 2021.<\/p>
Furthermore, over this Spending Review Period, DCMS is investing over £500 million in youth services to deliver the National Youth Guarantee, a government commitment that by 2025, every young person will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer. This includes a significant number of interventions. For example, the Youth Investment Fund is delivering grants to build, renovate and expand youth centres, and the Million Hours Fund has created more than a million hours of youth activities in antisocial behaviour hotspots.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4032", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Stuart Andrew"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Pudsey"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Stuart Andrew"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-01-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-01-19T09:24:38.633Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "217"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-01-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Youth Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of (a) access to and (b) the location of youth services.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4471", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Rachael Maskell"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "York Central"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Rachael Maskell"} ], "uin" : "9242"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1681116", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Culture, Media and Sport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1681116/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people. The appropriate number of trained youth practitioners required for local authorities to meet this duty will depend on the area and the needs of the young people in that area. It is for each local authority to decide what is sufficient provision.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4032", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Stuart Andrew"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Pudsey"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Stuart Andrew"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-01-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-01-19T09:16:21.867Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "217"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-01-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Youth Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of youth practitioners with youth work training that are required to ensure adequate provision of youth services by local authorities under Section 507B of the Education Act 1996.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4615", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lloyd Russell-Moyle"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Brighton, Kemptown"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lloyd Russell-Moyle"} ], "uin" : "9037"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1665814", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1665814/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
We are fully committed to the delivery of Youth Hubs, which are an integral part of our wider DWP Youth Offer. Youth Hubs bring together Work Coach employment support and place-based services from local partnerships to help young people into work.<\/p>
<\/p>