National Youth Strategy

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Excerpts

Tuesday 10th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

I wholeheartedly agree with my noble friend. The national youth strategy will allow us to better target funding and services where they are most needed and to reduce geographical disparities in choices and chances. We will continue to deliver additional hours of positive activities and adventures away from home for disadvantaged and vulnerable young people. In addition to better youth spaces, we will complete youth investment fund projects in disadvantaged areas, providing safe spaces and equality of access for young people from all backgrounds.

[Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Con)]

My Lords, does the Minister accept that more than 1 million young people took part in the National Citizen Service, with an approval rate of over 90%, making it probably the most successful youth programme in the last few decades? Given that, and given that it was good for social cohesion, mixing young people from different backgrounds together, good for the social soft skills that young people need such as confidence, leadership and teamwork, and good to get young people out from behind their screens and into the great outdoors, can she explain why—apart from short-term, political “not-invented-here-itis”—the Government decided to scrap it?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

I do not recognise the portrayal of the decision-making process that the noble Lord outlines. I remind him that when we came into power there was no youth strategy. This is part of our process of ensuring that every young person has a youth service that works for them. It is not to take away from what the NCS provided, but the world is very different now from the world in 2010. The youth strategy that we will deliver as a Labour Government will provide opportunities for all.