Oral Answers to Questions

Maya Ellis Excerpts

Thursday 26th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray]

I thank the hon. Member for being a wonderful champion for Stafford and for culture and arts in Stafford. In February, we announced £1.5 billion over this Parliament for the arts everywhere fund, which is broken down to make sure that we can support infrastructure in every part of the country. The Secretary of State’s and Department’s commitment is to make sure that there is arts and culture everywhere for everyone, and the Department will do everything we possibly can to make sure that gets to Stafford.

[Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley) (Lab)]

11. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of universal youth services.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy)]

My hon. Friend is a fantastic champion for young people in her constituency. She will know, having worked with us to deliver the first national youth strategy in decades, that we are allocating over £500 million of funding for youth provision over the next three years. She will also know that, most importantly, the way in which we allocate funding is changing. Rather than imposing settlements on communities for things that they did not ask for and do not need, our funding is driven by the grassroots and what communities need. If they need a new building, transportation or different facilities—whatever it may be—we will pay for it.

[Maya Ellis]

I welcome the universal approach of our new youth strategy, but in my Ribble Valley constituency, in which communities are small and often far away from city-centre youth hubs, young people miss out on support. Their family may be just about managing, but dual-career households and long hours leave little time to take children to activities. This country has an inequality problem, but it also has a productivity problem. I have had welcome conversations with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how we can unlock real entrepreneurship, ambition and opportunity for young people, in order not only to reduce unemployment rates but to unlock and capitalise on the incredible energy and ideas of our young people. How will the Secretary of State ensure that, while we rightly support those most in need, we also provide all young people with third spaces for ideas and creativity?

Youth Services

Maya Ellis Excerpts

Thursday 15th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon East (Natasha Irons) for securing this critical debate. Youth services are integral to enabling young people to live safe, healthy and happy lives, but we cannot deny that issues and policy relating to children and young people often get pushed aside. We must recognise the contribution that they make and will make to our society by ensuring that they have access to youth services.

I was so pleased to hear the Government’s announcement earlier this year on developing a new national youth strategy. Just last week, I held a strategy session in my Ribble Valley constituency and heard from the fantastic Bowland high school council about what young people in my area need and want. It was a chance to hear them talk openly about their concerns. I was taken aback by the number of students who discussed the stress, worry and pressure that they felt, particularly in relation to their exams—I wish all those starting their GCSEs this week good luck. That emphasised the need for youth services to support young people through these big life stages. They also discussed the lack of places to go where they could feel truly safe.

Youth provision is personal for me. I have been a member and volunteer of Girlguiding since I started Brownies when I was seven, and I served on the Girlguiding national board for six years, so I have seen at first hand the impact that such youth movements can have on young people. I would like to think that my confidence and self-belief as I stand in this House today come from that provision. That is the power that good youth services have.

I highlight to the Government how powerful investment can be when it follows existing infrastructure and good practice. Many organisations, such as guides and scouts, have existed for over a century, but they are reliant on volunteering, and modern lifestyles cannot sustain that. The frameworks that those organisations have developed are cutting-edge, however, so I welcome building on those provisions.

One young woman I spoke to recently said that the private stage school she had enjoyed proved too expensive for her in the long run. I would love it if we subsidised great local youth offers where possible, rather than reinventing the wheel. Doing so would also support local businesses. We must ensure that youth provision is extended to our rural communities and can be accessed across the country. I would echo my—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. I call Warinder Juss.