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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the £500 million pledged in the 2019 Conservative Party Manifesto has been allocated for youth services.

The Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for transformative levelling up across the country over the course of the parliament and in the recently completed Spending Review, £30m was committed from the fund as capital investment for 2021-22. This will provide investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so that they can access youth support workers, and beneficial activities outside of school, including sport and culture. Further details of the timetable for allocation and eligibility criteria will be announced in due course.

DCMS is currently undertaking a review of all its spending on services for young people, including future plans for the Youth Investment Fund, which will support 2021 Spending Review proposals.

Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, and on the youth services that support them. The 2020-21 £16.5m Youth Covid-19 Support Fund was announced to protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations. The funding is allocated from the government’s unprecedented £750 million package of support, which is already benefiting tens of thousands of frontline charities. More than £88 million of this package has already been provided to organisations working with vulnerable children and young people.