Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Tracey Crouch

Thursday 10th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

9. What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory duty on local authorities to provide youth services.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Tracey Crouch)]

The Government already place a statutory duty on local authorities to secure sufficient positive activities for young people so far as is practicable.

[Lilian Greenwood]

I am proud that Nottingham’s play and youth service still delivers in every ward of our city. Its early intervention work with young people who are troubled or at risk can reduce the need for more costly interventions later. However, since the Government’s cuts forced the play and youth services to merge, they have lost more than half their staff since 2010. When are the Government going to stop this short-sighted thinking and start tackling the crisis in local authority youth services by giving them the funding they need?

[Tracey Crouch]

I am sorry to hear that the hon. Lady’s council has made those changes to youth services. I am aware of some other projects in her area that are funded by the Government, including the myplace centre, and #iwill has funded other projects in Nottingham. We are providing £80 million in partnership with the Big Lottery Fund through youth investment and #iwill funds, and we also have £90 million of dormant accounts funding that will help young people facing barriers to work.