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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many youth services organisations have accessed the Government's £16.5 million youth covid-19 support fund to date.

Government recognises the important role that youth services play in communities, which is why we recently announced the £16.5 million Youth Covid-19 Support Fund (YCSF) that will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country.

£1.7m of the YCSF has already been allocated to vital youth work qualifications and training.

The competition for the remainder of the funding opened on Friday 15 January 2021 and will remain open until 19 February. It will help to mitigate the impact of lost income during the winter period due to the coronavirus pandemic, and ensure services providing vital support can remain viable.

To distribute funding as soon as possible, we will make initial awards on a rolling basis, prioritising those deemed to have the greatest need against the stated criteria. The first tranche of applications will be assessed in the coming fortnight.