Youth projects to benefit from £7m boost
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Youth projects across the UK will receive a share of a £7m government investment in a bid to improve opportunities for young people.
UK Youth, Sport England and Arts Council England are among those set to benefit from the boost, announced by culture secretary Nicky Morgan.
The Youth Accelerator Fund has been set up to address “urgent needs” in the sector, Morgan said.
UK Youth will receive £1.5m to deliver extra sessions in youth clubs across the country and Sport England has been granted £1.32m to offer grassroots extra-curricular activities in deprived areas.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund will invest £1.27m to into its Kick the Dust project offering heritage-based activities.
We're distributing over £1 million to youth clubs across the country to help deliver extra sessions for young people! 🥳To apply you need to be in the UK Youth Movement which is completely free, find out more here 👉 https://t.co/D7oE5l0HmT #StandWithYouth pic.twitter.com/uS5wdkYou3
— UK Youth (@UKYouth) January 30, 2020
Arts Council England’s youth music programme will benefit from £500,000 to support vulnerable young people and the British Film Institute will receive £155,000 to roll out its BFI Saturday Clubs across the country.
A further £2m will go towards setting up new local partnerships designed to effectively co-ordinate and sustain activities for young people.
Morgan said the investment was the start of an “ambitious” five-year plan to support young people.
“I’m thrilled this funding will allow even more young people across the country to participate in fantastic activities, whether at their local youth centre or through sport, arts, film and heritage organisations.
"If we wish to get the best out of all the great talent in our country it is vital that we offer the next generation opportunities to build character and resilience, not just in school but outside the school day,” she added.
Maddie Dinwoodie, deputy chief executive at UK Youth said: “Youth services are vital as they have transformational and lasting effects on young people’s wellbeing, social and employability skills. At UK Youth we are dedicated to ensuring that every young person can reach an accessible safe space in their community, where they can experience positive activities, develop skills and build relationships with trusted adults.”
Eilish McGuinness, executive director at The National Lottery Heritage Fund added: “The collaboration we’re seeing through the Youth Accelerator Fund shows a really joined-up approach across all the activities that, together, we know young people can benefit from.
“The extra funding will mean more things happening in more places with more young people, showing how government investment alongside National Lottery funding can really deliver positive outcomes for young people.”
The government is set to produce the results of a consultation into improving wellbeing for young people later this year.
An analysis of recent government figures, published by the YMCA, suggested that youth services had suffered a £1bn funding cut in just eight years.
