Asked by: Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the reasons for the delay in implementing the due diligence requirements under the Environment Act 2021; and when those measures will take effect.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government is actively considering the best regulatory approach to address de-forestation in UK supply chains; we will set out this approach in due course.
Asked by: Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of expenditure on housing asylum seekers is drawn from the Official Development Assistance budget, and whether any unspent expenditure is returned to that budget.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The provisional Statistics on International Development show that in 2024, £2.8 billion was spent on support to refugees or asylum seekers in the UK, a £1.4 billion or one third reduction on the previous year. This reduces the share of Official Development Assistance (ODA) spent on asylum costs in the UK to 20 per cent, down from 28 per cent. There was no unspent expenditure.
Asked by: Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether their expenditure on housing asylum seekers in hotels is increasing or decreasing.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts. The latest report records that expenditure on hotels was down almost a billion pounds in the last financial year.
Asked by: Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the current allocation for youth programmes is reportedly less than the £191.8 million allocated in 2021, according to analysis by UK Youth.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We fully recognise the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential.
We also, however, acknowledge the challenges facing the sector and the changing needs of the young people it supports. That is why this government has launched the co-production of an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which will be developed together with young people and the youth sector.
We also committed to maintaining or increasing funding for our other youth programmes, following the closure of NCS. DCMS will invest £145 million in youth programmes in 2025-26, which is consistent with funding in 24/25, taking into consideration the planned tapering of the Youth Investment Fund. This investment will provide stability to the youth sector and ensure young people can access opportunities, as we transition to the National Youth Strategy. This includes over £28 million to increase access to more and better enriching activities, over £3 million to increase sector and workforce capacity, £8.2 million to improve local youth offers, and over £107 million to invest in ensuring safe, welcoming, fit-for purpose youth centres.
Additionally, on 2nd June we announced £132.5 million of Dormant Assets Funding will be allocated to support the provision of services, facilities or opportunities to meet the needs of young people. This will increase disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability.
Asked by: Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the potential effects of reduced youth work funding on youth centres, employment of youth workers, and the availability of safe spaces for young people.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government recognises the transformative role that youth services play in young people’s lives. We know that youth workers are vital to these services, building trusted relationships and creating safe spaces for young people. We also, however, acknowledge the challenges facing the sector and the changing needs of the young people it supports. That is why this government has launched the co-production of an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which will be developed together with young people and the youth sector. The Strategy will be published in the autumn.
DCMS will invest £145 million in youth programmes in 2025-26, which is consistent with funding in 24/25. This investment will provide stability to the youth sector and ensure young people can access opportunities, as we transition to the National Youth Strategy.
We have commissioned research to assess the impact of reductions of youth services, including the 2023 ‘Youth Provision and Life Outcomes research’ which aimed to understand the impact youth clubs have on local areas.
Asked by: Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the promised national youth strategy will be published; and how they will address the concerns raised by stakeholders regarding funding and support for youth services.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We acknowledge the challenges facing the sector and the changing needs of the young people it supports. That is why this government has launched the co-production of an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which will be developed together with young people and the youth sector. The new National Youth Strategy is being co-produced with cross-sector input from stakeholders working with and for young people, particularly drawing on the connections and expertise of the youth sector. We have run engagement sessions in partnership with a range of services, to ensure the strategy can advise and support the youth sector effectively.
This strategy will aim to better coordinate youth services, as well as move away from one-size-fits all approaches from central government, bringing power back to young people and their communities and rebuilding a thriving and sustainable sector.
We will be publishing the strategy in the autumn.
Asked by: Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are in place to assess the effectiveness of government-funded youth programmes.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We conduct and commission a number of robust evaluations, surveys and research projects to assess the effectiveness of government-funded youth programmes. Each evaluation follows Central Government guidance for evaluation detailed in the Magenta Book. Monitoring and evaluation is embedded into programme design and youth evaluations explore a variety of questions, often including the impact of programmes and their effectiveness. Progress in delivering evaluations is reported as part of youth programme governance structures and evaluation reports are published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures are being taken to ensure grassroots youth organisations receive adequate funding and support to prevent closures and job losses in the sector.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In a written statement on 15 May 2025, the Secretary of State announced an investment of over £145 million in 2025/26 in youth programmes, to provide stability to the youth sector as we transition to a new National Youth Strategy, which includes funding for grassroots youth organisations. Further details on individual programmes will be shared in due course.
Additionally, on 2nd June we announced £132.5 million of Dormant Assets Funding will be allocated to support the provision of services, facilities or opportunities to meet the needs of young people. This will increase disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability.
Following the recent spending review, future funding commitments will be dependent on the Business Planning process.
Asked by: Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the remaining £79.4 million of the previously allocated Youth Investment Fund is being utilised; and what criteria are being used to distribute these funds effectively.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In a written statement on 15 May 2025, the Secretary of State announced an investment of over £145 million in 2025/26 in youth programmes, to provide stability to the youth sector as we transition to a new National Youth Strategy.
The package of funding includes £79.4 million of the reprofiled Youth Investment Fund. The allocation of £59.3 million of capital and £20.1 million of revenue funding will ensure the successful delivery of new and refurbished youth facilities scheduled for completion in 2025/26. This includes the pipeline of 25 Modern Methods of Construction projects.
The Youth Investment Fund is a targeted fund aimed at youth services in some of the less advantaged areas of England. The eligible areas were identified and ranked using a combination of publicly available data for youth need and low provision.
Asked by: Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have received applications for political asylum from citizens of the United States of America since January.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Data on the number of asylum claims by nationality from January to March 2025 will be published by the Home Office on 22 May 2025 in the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release' on GOV.UK.