Future of youth minister role undecided following Huddleston’s departure

Huddleston took on the role of civil society and youth minister last October as part of his wider brief overseeing policy for sport, heritage and tourism, to give him one of the broadest ministerial remits in government.

The government is now deciding whether youth policy will continue to be part of this wider brief or to resurrect the dedicated role of civil society and youth minister, CYP Now understands.

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DCMS's young people and charities remit had been held by Baroness Barran until last year but was axed and merged into Huddleston’s remit when she moved to the Department for Education to become a schools minister.

Charity sector body the National Council for Voluntary Organisations raised concerns at the time that “combining civil society with sport, heritage and tourism will mean a full and challenging workload” for Huddleston.

The lack of clarity on ministerial responsibilities at the DCMS comes as question marks remain over the replacement for children’s minister Brendan Clarke-Smith, who left after just two months in the role to join the cabinet office earlier this month.

This week Huddleston announced he has moved from the DCMS to become a government whip.

A number of new ministerial appointments have been made at the DCMS but a spokesman said that specific roles are “still to be decided” and did not rule out further recruitment.

Those joining the DCMS this week include parliamentary under-secretaries, former justice minister Stuart Andrew and former health and social care minister Lord Kamall.

The government has also confirmed that Julia Lopez has returned to the DCMS as minister of state, a role she had held until July.

In announcing his departure Huddleston acknowledged the breadth of responsibilities he had at the DCMS.

I'm leaving @DCMS & heading to the Whips Office. Thanks to all the great people I've worked with on:
🏅Commonwealth Games
🏖️ Tourism Recovery
🏈 Sports Survival Package
🎭 Culture Recovery Fund
⚽ Fan Led Review
🧒 CS & Youth
🎾 Grassroots Facilities
🏰 Heritage & so much more... pic.twitter.com/kpHpHcTkxp

— Nigel Huddleston MP (@HuddlestonNigel) September 20, 2022

Scouts chief executive Matt Hyde is among youth sector leaders to praise Huddleston or his work overseeing youth policy over the last year, thanking him “for all you have done as minister for civil society and young people”.

Meanwhile, National Youth Agency chief executive Leigh Middleton thanked Huddleston for his “passion and support for the youth sector” and for his role in developing the £560m youth guarantee to improve access to support and youth clubs.

UK Youth chief executive Ndidi Okezie added that Huddleston had been “passionate, direct and honest” as youth minister.