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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential role of youth work in supplementing and augmenting formal education while also developing skills of young people not fulfilled in a formal school environment.

Government recognises that informal education can play a positive role in providing young people with the skills and resilience needed to succeed in life. We value opportunities for young people to build trusted relationships and to seek spaces where youth work can deliver high quality information, advice and guidance alongside positive activities that improve wellbeing and participation in their communities.

Government is committed to supporting youth workers to develop the skills they need to best support all young people. We have pledged to renew specific youth work qualifications that were due to expire in 2020, subject to a business case, and review the youth work training curriculum.