DCMS publishes further details of youth services support package

The details have been published in the findings of a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport-led review of youth services.

The findings show that young people who responded to the review said their priorities for improvement in the youth sector included an increase in regular activities, the opportunity for “adventures away from home”, increased volunteering opportunities and activities that support mental and physical wellbeing and skills development.

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Youth sector leaders and practitioners called for resources to be aligned across government departments, and within DCMS, and for the government to champion a skilled, trained and accredited youth workforce.

They also highlighted the need for greater involvement of young people in decision-making about services and for funding to be invested in universal services only as a complement to specialist services for young people with specific support needs.

Key measures detailed in the review’s findings include previously announced plans such as the building or renovation of 300 new youth centres through the £368m Youth Investment Fund.

DCMS also reiterated proposals for a Youth Guarantee which aims to provide accessible youth services for every young person by 2025. 

Further details revealed in the latest announcement include:

• £171m investment in a new year-round National Citizen Services (NCS) which offers residential stays, non-residential work in the community and online opportunities including workshops in financial management and public speaking.

• The NCS will pilot a ‘Year of Service’ programme, an employability initiative offering young people a nine- to 12-month paid service placement in their local communities. The pilot is planned to support 330 young people into socially impactful jobs with wages funded by the NCS Trust CiC and the government’s Kickstart scheme. 

• Youth services across 45 local authorities and around 600 district wards in the most deprived parts of England will be eligible to apply for the £368m Youth Investment Fund.

• The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme will be offered to every state-funded secondary school in England by 2025, in collaboration with the Department for Education.

• Waiting lists for uniformed youth groups for 11- to 18-year-olds in England will be scrapped.

• DCMS will provide £4m to the iwill fund to create youth volunteers opportunities.

• The government will fund approximately 550 bursaries for entry level qualifications in youth work.

Responding to the announcement, Mark Gifford, chief executive of NCS, said: “We welcome today's announcement which we believe will offer greater opportunities to young people across the country - in particular, to those teens who are in most need of a ‘leg up’. This funding commitment is about investing in our country’s future talent, helping them to become ‘our next greatest generation’.

"NCS is all about helping young people to become world ready and work ready, grow in confidence and resilience, and give back to their communities. We look forward to continuing to deliver our vision of ‘a country of connected, confident, and caring citizens where everyone feels at home'.”

Ruth Marvel, chief executive of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, added: “Young people face an uncertain future and, now more than ever, need support to develop the vital skills, confidence and resilience they will need to thrive in the years ahead. This investment will help us give tens of thousands more young people the chance to do their DofE, including those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic.”

Leigh Middleton, chief executive of the National Youth Agency, said the offer did not go far enough to reverse £1bn of cuts to the sector of the last decade.

“Today, the government put another brick in the wall of a national youth offer, announcing £22m over the next three years to reduce the waiting list of non-military uniformed groups, extending the offer of the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards to secondary schools, and top up funding for youth social action through the #iwill fund. This builds on the £538m funding announced in the government's spending review of capital-led funding for up to 300 new or refurbished youth centres and a refocused National Citizen Service. 

"All investment in young people is welcome. However, we need to build a dam, not a wall, to level up opportunities with young people.  

"Youth services have seen an annual drop of some £1bn in recent years. Thousands of grassroots youth groups, many volunteer led, need our support. This requires increased revenue and stable funding, that can be sustained over time, transforming lives through youth work and matched to local needs. No area overlooked; no young person left behind," he said.