National Youth Strategy
Debate between Lord Bailey of Paddington and Baroness Twycross(2 weeks, 4 days ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
As I said, we will publish the criteria in due course, but I assure the noble Lord that we worked with young people and sector experts in co-producing the strategy Youth Matters. Those voices from the sector were at the heart of how we created the strategy and they will be part of the conversation going forward.
Lord Bailey of Paddington (Con)
Given that the uniformed groups, particularly the cadets, are a major force for good in this country and expose young people in disadvantaged communities to some of the most committed professional people on the planet, what reassurances can the Minister give us that the Government will look at the long-term financial viability of cadets based in the community and in schools? I declare my interest as chair of a cadet health check team and that yesterday my daughter became a serving member of the RAF.
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
I congratulate the noble Lord on his daughter’s success in her career and wish her all the best for the future. We recognise the role that uniformed youth groups can play. That is why we are providing £1.2 million of transitional funding. We will publish criteria for future funding soon. We anticipate that these organisations will be eligible for our future funds. Like the noble Lord, we know how important the uniformed youth organisations are— and not just in an ethereal, theoretical sense. Up and down the country, the adults running some of these organisations are working with young people who need that trusted adult to take forward and mentor them.
Uniformed youth groups: Promoting Skills and Resilience in Young People
Debate between Lord Bailey of Paddington and Baroness Twycross(6 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
I pay tribute to all those supporting uniformed youth organisations, including my noble friend. Our new national youth strategy has been co-designed with young people. We are engaging further with young people in youth groups, including uniformed youth organisations, to ensure that their perspectives, needs and proven outcomes are incorporated. As for transitional funding and funding arrangements, I will take my noble friend’s points back to the department ahead of her meeting with Minister Peacock, which I understand is taking place early next month.
Lord Bailey of Paddington (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest as the chair of the cadet health check team. The value of the uniformed services to our young people throughout the country is beyond doubt, particularly in the poorest communities in the country. The real challenge now is adult volunteers. The entire service is based on adult volunteers, so what work are the Government doing to improve recruitment and retention of those very valuable volunteers?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
I agree with the points the noble Lord raised around the value of uniformed youth groups. One of the things our new funding arrangements will do is support the development of volunteers. I will be very happy to share some examples and discuss that further with him.
National Youth Strategy
Debate between Lord Bailey of Paddington and Baroness Twycross
Lord Bailey of Paddington (Con)
My Lords, given that the uniformed cadet service has more than 139,000 members and provides some of the best social mobility available to young people, exposing them to some of the most highly trained and highly dedicated people in the world, can the Minister guarantee that it will take part in the formation of this national youth strategy?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
We encourage all young people involved in existing schemes to take part and get engaged with the formation of the strategy. I will take the noble Lord’s point back to the department and write to him to ensure that happens.