Government: Ten-year strategy sets out to empower nations young

The Youth Opportunity Fund and Youth Capital Fund will be extended until at least 2011, with extra resources to reach the most deprived areas. A National Institute of Youth Leadership will be established to support young peoples ability to bring about social change and local councillors and adult volunteers will be trained to gather young peoples views.

The Government wants 25 per cent of spending on youth services decided by young people by 2018, with five per cent achieved by 2010. An unspecified amount of unclaimed assets money will fund new integrated youth centres, refurbish existing provision and build smaller mobile centres and skateparks. For illustration purposes, the review states 100m would fund 10 new centres, 110 revamped centres and 350 smaller projects. Private contractors will be sought to provide 50 per cent matched funding on youth facilities, emulating the model for city academies. On this basis, more than 700 new facilities will be created. An 8m pathfinder scheme involving 10 councils in deprived areas will pioneer local capital strategies for adapting buildings like libraries for youth provision.