Youth Provision: Universal and Targeted Support Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Alice Macdonald
Main Page: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)Department Debates - View all Alice Macdonald's debates with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Youth Provision: Universal and Targeted Support
Alice Macdonald Excerpts(1 day, 12 hours ago)
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Harpreet Uppal
I agree with my hon. Friend. I will make a bit of progress before taking more interventions.
More than one in five children now have a diagnosable mental health condition, and many wait over a year to access a mental health specialist, with nearly 40,000 children waiting more than two years in 2023-24. Research shows that it is 100 times cheaper to treat a young person in the community than as an in-patient. The Government have taken steps to improve mental health support in schools, but youth services play a critical role in addressing these challenges early on. While I recognise all the work that this Government have already done to address these issues, the challenges facing the sector require more than short-term funding. The youth investment fund, for example, is helping to develop youth facilities, but it largely covers capital investment, leaving critical gaps in operational funding for staffing and programme delivery.
Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)
I thank my hon. Friend for her excellent speech. I totally agree that we need investment in capital as well as revenue funding. I recently brought together young people and youth organisations in Norwich to discuss the challenges they face, and there was a particular gap in the period between 3 pm and 7 pm. Does my hon. Friend agree that, when we are developing these strategies, we must make sure that the voices of those on the ground, particularly young people, are at the forefront?
Harpreet Uppal
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. We must make sure that young people play a part in the programmes that are delivered for them.
While 22 young futures hubs are being piloted through the shared outcomes fund, they are only funded for one year. To recover from years of Conservative neglect, youth services need sustainable, long-term funding.