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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her planned timetable is for the implementation of the National Youth strategy; what steps she is taking to involve youth sector organisations in the development of that strategy; and how her Department plans to consult young people on that strategy.

We are developing our plans for the new National Youth Strategy, in partnership with young people and with organisations within the youth sector, to bring power back to young people and rebuild a thriving and sustainable sector. We know there is excellent existing work across the sector to understand issues faced by young people, propose solutions, and promote youth voice in decision-making, and we are working with the youth sector to build on this to co-produce the strategy.

We will be holding a series of youth-led roundtables, conducting a youth survey and setting up a youth advisory board to work alongside us. The Youth Advisory Group comprises young people with diverse lived experiences from across the country, with the first meeting scheduled for January 2025. The Secretary of State, Minister Peacock and officials have already met with a number of young people and youth sector organisations to hear their thoughts on the Strategy and we will continue to build on this work over the coming weeks and months.

We plan to publish the Strategy in summer with an interim report planned for the spring.