Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (): For too long, young people
have not been sufficiently part of decisions which affect their
current and future lives, not just at a national level but in
every part of government. We are determined to change this,
building a future where young people are in the driving seat.
Young people are not a problem to be solved but a powerful asset
for our nation's future.
In November last year, we announced the development of a new,
ambitious direction for young people to begin that change. Today,
we have published ‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy' -
our cross-government plan for the next decade to give young
people a safe place to go, someone who cares for them and a
community they feel a part of. We have two clear ambitions
underpinning this plan. By 2035, we want:
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To have halved the participation gap in enriching activities
between disadvantaged young people and their peers; and
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For half a million more young people to have access to a
trusted adult outside of their home.
Over the past year, we have co-produced this Strategy with young
people from very different places and backgrounds and ran one of
the biggest national conversations the Government has had with
young people. We heard about the challenges that they face
regarding their education, health, safety, relationships,
community engagement and many more. Their insights and priorities
are captured in our landmarked State of the Nation report,
published alongside the Strategy. We have also worked closely
with our Youth Advisory Group and our Expert Advisory Group and I
would like to thank them for all of their help to ensure we
respond to young people's priorities and to the youth sector's
needs.
Through our Strategy, we will give young people the spaces and
opportunities they need to connect with their peers, with trusted
adults and with their communities. It is the beginning of
ambitious reforms in national and local youth policy, with three
key shifts in how we will deliver for and with young people over
the next decade: from national to local, from fragmented to
collaborative, and from excluded to empowered.
The most devastating consequence of local cuts to youth provision
over the last decade were the services that were lost, the youth
clubs that were shut, and the trusted relationships that were
broken and lifelines lost. So our work starts with rebuilding a
strong, sustainable youth sector. We will invest £15 million over
the next three years in the youth workers, volunteers and other
trusted adults who listen to young people and guide them through
life. We will also launch a £70 million programme over the next
three years to help local areas better support young people and
develop a network of up to 50 Young Futures Hubs by March 2029.
Already, we have chosen the first eight Early Adopter locations
who will establish a Hub to meet the support needs of local young
people.
Building on this, we will enable young people to have access to
more and better activities which support their wellbeing and
their socio-emotional skills. As a first step, we will be
spending £350 million over the next four years to refurbish or
build up to 250 youth facilities in areas that need it most
through our Better Youth Spaces programme. We will also create a
new Richer Young Lives Fund with over £60 million of funding to
create more high-quality fun activities and youth work
opportunities in areas that need it most.
This Strategy is a fully cross-government plan which outlines our
immediate and longer-term choices to help young people get good
jobs, keep them safe in our streets and online, support their
mental and physical health and many other priorities.
It builds on wider reforms to the education skills system with a
target of two-thirds of young people participating in
higher-level learning – academic, technical, or an apprenticeship
– by age 25. It also builds on recent announcements, such as the
publication of the Child Poverty Strategy which will see the
largest reduction in child poverty in a single parliament as well
as the investment of £1.5 billion through the Youth Guarantee and
the Growth and Skills Levy - creating 50,000 more apprenticeships
and foundation apprenticeships for young people over the next
three years.
We will engage with partners within and outside the government to
deliver our plan and we call on parents and carers, youth
providers, volunteers, teachers, local authorities, health
providers, police officers, employers and countless more to work
with us.
This publication is just the start. For too long, young people
have been an afterthought when it comes to decision making. Yet
the success of the nation depends on their success. We have an
opportunity to unlock the potential of a generation and this is
our promise to them.
