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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of combined authorities on youth services funding.

We are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the introduction of combined authorities and the potential impact this will have on youth services.

Local Authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people in their area. DCMS published the updated, more fit-for-purpose guidance in 2023 to support local authorities to better understand what their existing duty is and how to deliver it.

We have launched the Local Youth Transformation Pilot which will test a new way of working and supporting local authorities to deliver for young people.