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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to uphold the commitment it made at the 9th Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting outlined in point 8 of the Final Communiqué to implement (a) policies that recognise the diversity and inter-sectionality within the youth cohort and (b) investment to address and advance the distinct needs and interests of various groups.

The Government encourages participation of young people from all backgrounds in youth programmes. Achieving a diverse social mix of participants is a core aim of National Citizen Service and young people with Special Educational Needs, disabilities and from BAME groups are consistently over-represented.

Our investment in youth social action is helping to close the gap in participation between young people from the most and least affluent backgrounds (the National Youth Social Action survey suggests the gap reduced from 20% in 2014 to 9% in 2016). Furthermore, the £40million Youth Investment Fund is creating opportunities for young people in disadvantaged areas to learn new skills and access positive activities.