Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact of the reduction in youth service funding in Kirklees on youth crime and anti-social behaviour in that area.

Local Authorities have a statutory duty to allocate funding to youth services in line with local need. This is funded from the Local Government settlement, which was over £12 billion this year. Police recorded incidents show a fall in Antisocial Behaviour since 2013/2014 from around 2.1 million to 1.7 million incidents in September 2021.

The Government recognises the vital role that accessible youth services and activities play in improving the life chances and wellbeing of young people. The Government is investing £560 million over the next 3 years in a new National Youth Guarantee, so that by 2025 every young person will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer.