Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) accessibility and (b) range of youth facilities in areas where the population is expanding.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We will not be making an assessment of youth facilities based on areas where populations are expanding. Local Authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people in their area.
The government has committed to introducing simpler and fairer allocations for councils, using the most up-to-date data and taking account of growing demand. As part of the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, which is open until Friday 15 August, we are inviting views on using projections to increase the accuracy of allocations across the multi-year Settlement.
DCMS recognises the importance of ensuring that Local Authorities are appropriately supported to deliver accessible and effective youth provision. In 2025/26, we will commit £8m to launch the Local Youth Transformation Pilot which will test a new way of working and supporting local authorities to deliver for young people.