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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the Government intends to begin the review of the statutory duty on local authorities to provide a sufficient youth offer, and whether this review will consider strengthening statutory protections to ensure equal access to high quality youth services nationwide.

In September 2023 DCMS published updated statutory guidance to support local authorities’ understanding of the existing duty and how to deliver it. In the longer-term, we will explore reviewing the current local authorities’ statutory duty for youth services to empower them to better deliver on their responsibilities for youth services. The timeline for this review is not yet finalised.