Youth policy review sets priorities but falls short on funding

The recently published Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) review of youth policy includes plans to encourage more people into the youth work sector, better co-ordinate funding across government departments, improve access to services for young people in deprived areas and boost youth participation in shaping policy. Some of these pledges are from the government’s 2019 election manifesto while others are previous policy announcements. However, viewed alongside measures in the Leveling Up white paper, sector leaders are cautiously optimistic that it marks a revival of fortunes for youth work.

The DCMS review was launched in early 2021 as a way of deciding the future of youth-related funding streams, including the National Citizen Service (NCS) and £500m Youth Investment Fund (YIF), and address regional differences in opportunities for young people. Initially due to report last summer, it was delayed by the pandemic.

Survey responses

Young people and sector organisations were surveyed about their views on vision and outcomes, funding models and partnerships, and data and evaluation.

Young people identified the quality of provision and the need for trained and passionate youth workers or volunteers as their key priorities. They also highlighted the loss of provision and increase in participation fees in their areas due to funding cuts as barriers to participation.

The sector highlighted the key role the DCMS has in championing youth services and creating better alignment between policies and funding pots across departments. The review states there was “strong messaging” that funding needs to be “accessible and long term, to support improved evaluations and opportunities for small, grassroots organisations” and “invested in universal services, especially in deprived and isolated areas”. There was a strong preference for resource funding, and where capital funding was needed responders said it should be small-scale, flexible and locally determined. The sector also called for a clear strategy for youth services, including the workforce, detailing desired outcomes and quality-assured approaches to evaluation.

Funding measures

Actions in the DCMS policy review include investing £368m through the YIF to build up to 300 new – or expand existing – youth centres in deprived communities over the next three years and supported by revenue funding to create 45,000 additional youth activities per year. Although 26 per cent less than originally pledged, the funding has been widely welcomed by the sector – although some leaders highlight that capital spending is a “safe option” that does little to address the long-term viability of the funding landscape.

Bernard Davies, author of Austerity, Youth Policies and the Destruction of the Youth Service in England, said the announcement “has to be seen in the context of austerity cuts which have resulted in more than 760 youth centres being closed since 2012”.

Denise Hatton, chief executive of YMCA England and Wales, says measures in the review are “an appreciated piece of the puzzle” but warns “this pot will inevitably run out”. She adds: “What is needed is a sustainable system of funding that young people can rely on now and far into the future. Unfortunately, that is not what is on the table here.”

The review reiterates the government’s commitment to invest £171m in the NCS over the next three years, turning the flagship social action programme for 16- and 17-year-olds into a year-round initiative. At its peak NCS received £180m annually. Despite this, it is hoped the revamped programme will reach more young people digitally and offering more volunteering experiences to disadvantaged groups.

Mark Gifford, chief executive of the NCS Trust, described the settlement as “a strong vote of confidence by government and the DCMS” in the programme.

Many in the youth sector had argued for the programme to be more integrated with year-round local provision. “Providing one hour per week for 50 weeks makes more sense for a young person’s development journey [than a one-off four-week scheme in the summer holidays],” says Leigh Middleton, chief executive of the National Youth Agency (NYA).

Other financial support in the review includes £22m to expand the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award scheme to every state-funded secondary school in England by 2025; offer volunteering opportunities through the #iwill fund; and eliminate waiting lists for uniformed youth groups for 11- 18-year-olds.

“It was no surprise and some pleasure to see the increased investment in DofE with their tried and tested combination of volunteering, skills development, challenge and residential experience, predating the NCS Trust model,” says James Cathcart, director of youth participation organisation Young Voices Heard.

Workforce support

The DCMS gives its backing to NYA initiatives to develop youth work national standards and qualifications, and a workforce strategy. It also pledges to fund 550 bursaries for entry-level qualifications and create a National Youth Work Register.

NYA’s Middleton says the review’s findings validate the approach being taken to developing a core structure for youth work training which will lead to more practitioners gaining youth work qualifications. “There’s a lot going on in the world that is linked to youth work but not called youth work,” he says, citing mentoring schemes as an example. “I want to find [these workers] so we have a bigger pool of professionals.”

Middleton adds that the demise of council youth work jobs and training means there is now a shortage of youth workers: “Most conversations I’m having with youth work employers is that they can’t find staff to fill posts.”

He says the expansion of bursaries and youth work apprenticeships “will change the way we train youth workers” in future. “People tend to come into youth work when older, so apprenticeships enable them to earn and train at the same time.”

However, analysis by the YMCA highlights the challenge facing the sector. Its recent research reveals that spending by councils on youth services fell by a further four per cent between April 2020 and March 2021 and is now £1.1bn less than it was in 2010/11 (see graphics). The amount councils spend per head has fallen 77 per cent over the same period, the data shows.

“The cuts have been so severe many local authorities no longer employ qualified youth workers,” says Mike Short, acting head of local government at Unison. “Councils wanting to employ youth workers are struggling to find them.”

What’s missing?

The YMCA’s Hatton says after a decade of cuts, measures in the review will be meaningless without “significant extra revenue funding” for council youth services (see expert views). This is echoed by the Local Government Association, which applauds the review’s pledge to develop a youth services strategy.

Key to any strategy will be the promised DCMS review of local authority youth work statutory duties – initially promised in 2019 but is yet to get off the ground.

“The intention of bringing about clarity and in turn accountability to a local authority statutory youth offer is vital,” adds Esther Horner-Aird and Gess Horner-Aird, directors of Kinetic Youth. “Once we have this, the sector can push on to provide year-round, regulated, high-quality youth service provision beyond what is already on offer.”

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Denise Hatton, chief executive, YMCA England and Wales:

"The [measures] will go some way to supporting those young people in levelling up areas by providing new facilities and opportunities to access youth services. However, significant investment is needed to ensure every young person has the opportunity to benefit from these services in a holistic way.

"Positively, the DCMS youth review does outline a number of important issues that young people themselves have asked for.

"Ultimately, what’s required is a guarantee of future funding, so that youth services can stop worrying about whether they will exist in six months’ time and can instead equip themselves to stand beside the young people in their community for the long-term."

Kathryn Morley, chief executive, OnSide:

"Young people consulted want regular, face-to-face activities outside of school with opportunities to volunteer in their community and go on residentials. The review is a welcome and cohesive response to these needs with many positives including the focus on experienced and trusted national providers who are well placed to expand delivery at pace and scale.

"However, I worry about young people who are less engaged at school and less likely to sign up for organised youth activities. This is where youth centres really come into their own. While the funding to create or expand 300 youth centres is very welcome, the ongoing funding [of them] continues to be the most difficult question to address."

Mike Short, acting head of local government, Unison:

"Youth services have had a terrible time over the past decade – youth clubs have shut, centres been sold off, and staff made redundant, leaving teams diminished and spread thinly across multiple services.

"The cuts have been so severe many local authorities no longer employ qualified youth workers. This has led to fewer degree courses on offer.

"Youth work is key to providing support and guidance for young people, many from troubled backgrounds. To do this properly, councils need to know the funding to run decent services will be there this year, next year and for decades to come.

"If ministers are serious about getting youth work back on track, they need to do more than what’s currently on offer."

Esther Horner-Aird and Gess Horner-Aird, directors, Kinetic Youth:

"We feel that the most marginalised and vulnerable young people need an offer that goes beyond somewhere to go and something to do. A service that can offer this cohort of young people a safe space to access what they need in response to what they lack at home. A strong, fully funded detached youth work service that takes opportunity to young people in their environments.

"Good youth work doesn’t need a brick building; it’s nice, but not necessary. It needs qualified, passionate, professional youth workers. These youth workers can take their skill sets onto the streets, into local communities, into alternative schools and to the areas where they are most needed."