Youth Provision: Universal and Targeted Support
Debate between Tahir Ali and Harpreet Uppal(1 week, 4 days ago)
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Tahir Ali (Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Allin-Khan. Does my hon. Friend agree that, to ensure adequate provision for youth services, we need to consider creating a statutory youth service with ringfenced funding? That would ensure that young people across the country are able to access high-quality services irrespective of the financial position of the local council. Often, when cuts are made to youth services, they cannot do that.
Harpreet Uppal
I agree with my hon. Friend that we need more investment in youth services, and I am sure the Minister has heard the point about statutory provision.
I know from recent meetings with incredible organisations working in this space that the young futures hubs pilot is hugely welcomed, and they would appreciate confirmation from the Minister of the timeline for delivery of the hubs. In addition, the Duke of Edinburgh’s award team are calling for a universal enrichment guarantee that offers 80 hours of enrichment activity per year, giving all young people regular access to positive activities. I hope the Minister will look into that new policy from the Duke of Edinburgh’s award team.
The benefits of investing in youth services are clear. As the Labour party manifesto said,
“nothing says more about the state of a nation than the wellbeing of its children.”