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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of open access youth work on tackling loneliness in young people; and if he will make a statement.

Loneliness can affect people at any age. Several studies, most recently by the Office of National Statistics, have found that younger adults aged 16 to 24 are at particular risk of feeling lonely more often.

Open access youth work provides safe spaces and trusted people to talk to, therefore government believes this can have a positive impact on tackling loneliness amongst young people.