Government 'dragging heels' on new youth policy
Sophie Eminson
Friday, October 27, 2017
A senior Labour MP has criticised the government for "dragging its heels" on youth policy by failing to give a clear indication of when a promised three-year plan for the sector will be published.
Last November, former youth minister Rob Wilson announced plans to create a new policy statement to give "a clear narrative and vision" for how to help young people, adding that it would be published in "the coming months". However, nearly a year on, the policy statement is still yet to be published.
Speaking in parliament, in response to a question tabled by Labour MP Kate Green, youth minister Tracey Crouch said that "any announcement about youth policy will be made in due course".
She added that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) conducted a series of regional workshops in March and April to discuss current issues for youth policy with representatives from the youth sector, local authorities and young people, and that the evidence gathered is "being used by the Office for Civil Society across its youth policy work".
Green told CYP Now that Crouch, who was handed responsibility for youth policy in June, has repeatedly failed to answer questions about the government's plans for the sector.
"A year ago, the former youth minister said that there would be a statement on a three-year youth policy which would ‘act as a road map until at least 2020'," she said.
"Since July, Tracey Crouch has avoided answering when she plans to publish the statement with the latest coming in response to my written question [in parliament] on Tuesday.
"The government is already a third of the way through its own stated time span and is still dragging its heels by failing to commit - across departments - to support young people.
"In the meantime, youth services have been slashed or closed up and down the country, and organisations who work with young people on a daily basis are desperate for certainty about future funding for their work.
"The government urgently needs a comprehensive plan to support good quality youth work, ensure a well trained workforce, and offer young people leisure activities and opportunities to contribute to and participate in wider society, as so many wish to do."
A DCMS spokeswoman said: "The government is considering the contributions made in the youth policy regional workshops held in March and April. An announcement about youth policy will be made in due course."
