Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Young Futures Hubs expansion announced on 15 September 2026, whether Walsall Council was invited to submit an expression of interest; whether an expression of interest was received; and whether the Department will publish its assessment of Walsall during the selection process.

Walsall Council was not shortlisted to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Young Futures Hubs and Transformation Programme on this occasion, however they may be eligible for future funding from the Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy commitments.

The methodology used to shortlist Local Authorities used a combination of indicators relating to crime, deprivation and community need and mental health. This targeted the programme’s core goals: improving mental health and wellbeing, increasing opportunities, and reducing vulnerability to crime. The top 50 ranked local authorities were invited to submit an EOI to the Young Futures Hubs and Transformation programme.

Further information on the eligibility criteria, methodology and Expression of Interest process has been published on GOV.UK.

While Walsall was not eligible for this targeted funding, the wider Young Futures programme has been committed to sharing the learnings from the programme to support all LAs to improve the youth services.