Youth Provision: Universal and Targeted Support

16:00:00

I will call Harpreet Uppal to move the motion and I will then call the Minister to respond. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, as is the convention for 30-minute debates. There will be no other speeches, but Members can intervene briefly.

I beg to move, That this House has considered access to universal and targeted youth provision. It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan, and a pleasure to open this important debate on access to universal and targeted youth provision. It is fantastic to see so many Members here—I should have gone for a 90-minute debate after all! I am grateful for the opportunity to highlight the vital role that youth services play in supporting young people across the country and delivering on the Government’s mission to reduce barriers to opportunity. I know that many colleagues share my deep commitment to ensuring that every young person in our constituencies has the support and opportunities they need to thrive. Members from across the House recognise that youth services are not a luxury, but an essential part of our communities.

I commend the hon. Lady for bringing this issue forward for a debate. It is obvious that if she had applied for a 90-minute debate, or even a three-hour debate, she would have got a good crowd for it. One feature in my constituency—I am sure that it is the same in hers—is church-based organisations. Churches remain the largest non-governmental institutions across Northern Ireland, and the largest organisations with voluntary membership. They provide the uniformed organisations, the youth clubs, the drama classes, the choirs and so much more. Does she agree that there is an opportunity for the Government and for the Minister’s Department to work alongside church groups—all church groups, that is—to provide the help for the youth that we all wish to see?

The hon. Member is absolutely right that faith organisations and voluntary organisations play a huge part in the youth services that we deliver. Trained youth workers create trusted relationships, offering safe spaces where young people can explore their interests, develop a sense of identity and, importantly, feel supported. Youth provision is also about giving young people the tools to lead happy, healthy and productive lives. I want to recognise the steps that the Government have taken in this area. Initiatives such as the national youth strategy for England and the young futures hubs aim to bring together targeted support for young people, and they reflect a growing understanding of the importance of youth services. However, we must also be honest about the challenges we face.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. May I just say how wonderful this debate is? I very much appreciate my hon. Friend’s work in securing it. I also commend the work of the voluntary sector, of local authorities, and of church groups and other faith communities. In particular, they provide much-needed targeted support on very difficult issues such as mental health. That is much appreciated in many communities across the country.

My hon. Friend is absolutely correct, and I will come on to mental health. Fourteen years of Conservative Governments have resulted in a £1.2 billion real-terms reduction in local authority spending on youth services in England since 2010.

I thank the hon. Member for securing this really important debate. She is making a powerful introduction. The Street Foyer YMCA in my constituency provides excellent support for a lot of young people, many of whom come from challenging backgrounds and circumstances, but the local authority faces severe financial difficulties. Somerset council can spend only £13.47 per head on young people in Somerset. Does the hon. Member agree that it is crucial that we address the broken local government funding model if we are to improve youth service provision?

I thank the hon. Member for her point. I am sure the Minister heard what she said. Kirklees council, which covers my constituency of Huddersfield, has seen a 70% decrease in funding in the 14 years that I mentioned. That leaves just £47.76 per young person spent on youth services in our community.

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this really important debate. In Stoke-on-Trent, the amount spent per young person is £10.76, but in inner London it is £110—10 times more. Does she agree that we need to look at the regional inequalities in how these services are funded? Hopefully, the Minister will hear that point too.

I am sure the Minister has heard my hon. Friend’s point. The Children’s Society’s “Good Childhood Report” shows that 15-year-olds in the UK have the lowest life satisfaction of young people across 27 European countries, based on programme for international student assessment data from 2022. Despite the financial outlook, there are many incredible organisations working in my constituency to support our young people, including Positive Stepz, Conscious Youth, Central Stars youth club, Team KickStart, Yorkshire Community Development, Empower, Boxpower and Temple Well-Being.

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. Everyone wants to intervene, and she is being very generous with her time. As she mentioned a few important local organisations, I want to do the same for my constituency. The redevelopment of Highgate Newtown community centre is an example of how an ambitious community space can serve as a welcoming hub that children and families look forward to visiting, and I thank Andrew Sanalitro and his team for making that happen. Does my hon. Friend agree that housing developers should not just retain community centres, but enhance them, in order to make provision for young people and families in our constituencies?

I agree with my hon. Friend, who has been a great champion in this area. Such organisations deliver outstanding community-led services to our young people and offer them experiences, opportunities and environments that allow them to thrive. However, despite the best efforts of the incredible staff and volunteers, financial constraints have resulted in many having to reduce the services they offer. The evidence is clear: when youth services are cut, young people suffer.

Does the hon. Lady agree that the Minister should answer two questions? The first is about the funding and jobs that will flow from the national youth strategy, and the second is about integration. We need a youth chapter in the housing strategy, as Centrepoint has asked for, and to bring its co-production values into the “Get Britain Working” strategy, aspects of which are quite worrying.

I am sure the Minister has heard what the hon. Lady has said. I am proud that the Government are developing a national youth strategy, which has not happened before. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that the closure of youth clubs led to a 4% drop in GCSE performance at age 16, with even greater effects on pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Worse still, the loss of youth services has been linked to a 14% increase in youth crime within six years of youth services closures.

I will take both interventions, but then I need to make a bit of progress before I take interventions from other Members.

I am pleased that my hon. Friend has secured this debate. Last week, I spoke about the importance of a holistic approach to preventing crime, and especially of providing young people with safe spaces. We have had 14 years of brutal cuts. The council I used to lead had a £1 billion budget, but now it is £800 million—£200 million has been cut from it. Despite those punishing cuts, it is still building the first lido to be built in London in decades, a swimming pool and a leisure centre. We must build infrastructure. Does my hon. Friend agree that the phrase “If you build it, they will come” should be at the forefront of everything we do?

I do agree. I will now take the intervention from the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire).

The 2020 investigation by the all-party parliamentary group on knife crime and violence reduction found a strong negative association between the closure of youth centres and increases in local knife crime. Every year, youth services save the public purse £500 million by preventing crime. In Surrey, spending has fallen by 49% since 2010, so does the hon. Member agree that investment in youth services is invaluable in preventing both knife crime and antisocial behaviour?

The hon. Member is quite right, and I am coming to that point now. Unfortunately, we are seeing the consequences of reductions in youth service provision across the country, as organised criminal gangs lure children and young people into county lines networks and organised criminality. Too many communities have seen children criminally exploited and, sadly, we have seen the devastating consequences of knife crime. In Huddersfield, 15-year-old Khayri Mclean and 17-year-old Harley Brown sadly lost their lives to knife crime in recent years, and only last week, 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose was fatally stabbed in Sheffield. Knife crime leaves too many parents dealing with consequences that no parent should have to face, communities broken, and too many children and young people left with mental scars.

Thank you for chairing the debate, Dr Allin-Khan—it is good to see a fellow Khan in the Chair. My hon. Friend is making excellent progress on such an important subject. Across the country, children are being let down by the absence of support tailored to their multi-layered and complex needs. Does she agree that, in order to protect the mental wellbeing of young people, it is necessary to invest in good-quality, trauma-informed youth provision for all, and that the Minister should be looking at the regional inequalities that we can all see?

I agree with my hon. Friend. I will make a bit of progress before taking more interventions. More than one in five children now have a diagnosable mental health condition, and many wait over a year to access a mental health specialist, with nearly 40,000 children waiting more than two years in 2023-24. Research shows that it is 100 times cheaper to treat a young person in the community than as an in-patient. The Government have taken steps to improve mental health support in schools, but youth services play a critical role in addressing these challenges early on. While I recognise all the work that this Government have already done to address these issues, the challenges facing the sector require more than short-term funding. The youth investment fund, for example, is helping to develop youth facilities, but it largely covers capital investment, leaving critical gaps in operational funding for staffing and programme delivery.

I thank my hon. Friend for her excellent speech. I totally agree that we need investment in capital as well as revenue funding. I recently brought together young people and youth organisations in Norwich to discuss the challenges they face, and there was a particular gap in the period between 3 pm and 7 pm. Does my hon. Friend agree that, when we are developing these strategies, we must make sure that the voices of those on the ground, particularly young people, are at the forefront?

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. We must make sure that young people play a part in the programmes that are delivered for them. While 22 young futures hubs are being piloted through the shared outcomes fund, they are only funded for one year. To recover from years of Conservative neglect, youth services need sustainable, long-term funding.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Allin-Khan. Does my hon. Friend agree that, to ensure adequate provision for youth services, we need to consider creating a statutory youth service with ringfenced funding? That would ensure that young people across the country are able to access high-quality services irrespective of the financial position of the local council. Often, when cuts are made to youth services, they cannot do that.

I agree with my hon. Friend that we need more investment in youth services, and I am sure the Minister has heard the point about statutory provision. I know from recent meetings with incredible organisations working in this space that the young futures hubs pilot is hugely welcomed, and they would appreciate confirmation from the Minister of the timeline for delivery of the hubs. In addition, the Duke of Edinburgh’s award team are calling for a universal enrichment guarantee that offers 80 hours of enrichment activity per year, giving all young people regular access to positive activities. I hope the Minister will look into that new policy from the Duke of Edinburgh’s award team. The benefits of investing in youth services are clear. As the Labour party manifesto said, “nothing says more about the state of a nation than the wellbeing of its children.”

I thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate. In Birmingham Erdington, we have a high proportion of young people with poor access to youth services and shockingly high youth knife crime statistics. Does she agree that the youth funding crisis must be urgently resolved?

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and I hope we can work together on that issue in the future.

It is obviously a pleasure to follow my near neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton). Politics is about choices, and it is no surprise that not a single Conservative Back Bencher is here to listen or contribute to the debate. With that in mind, will my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield join me in calling on Conservative-run Staffordshire county council to pull its finger out and make sure that young constituents in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Kidsgrove and across the county get the youth services they need and deserve?

I support my hon. Friend’s call, and it is disappointing that we do not have any Members from the official Opposition present. Research shows that, for every £1 invested in youth work, the return to the taxpayer is between £3.20 and £6.40. Additionally, for every £1 invested in child and adolescent mental health services, the return on investment is an estimated £2.85 in benefits to the individual and an additional £1.40 in savings to the Government.

If anyone does not get to intervene today, I would ask them to please sign up to my Backbench Business debate on youth services, because we need more time to discuss this matter. As my hon. Friend rightly points out, supporting youth services is not just a moral case, but a financial one. Does she agree that the 73% decline in youth services points to the fact that we need to give them statutory protection and to have benchmarks for provision?

I do agree that we need more protections, and I am sure the Minister has heard my hon. Friend’s point about statutory protection. I, too, urge hon. Members to sign up to my hon. Friend’s application for a Backbench Business debate. As hon. Members have said, providing youth services reduces the need later in life for more costly interventions, from social care to the criminal justice system. It also means that we give young people an opportunity to thrive. A thriving youth sector depends on a strongly skilled workforce, so we need to ensure that the youth sector can attract, train and retain skilled professionals. The National Youth Agency’s 2024 workforce survey found that more than 4,500 youth workers have left the profession in the past decade, and only six undergraduate youth work programmes remain, down from 37 in 2013. At the same time, the demand for youth services is constantly increasing, with 82% of youth sector organisations reporting growing demand for mental health support.

DrMz, a youth organisation in Caerfyrddin, provides a safe space for diverse young people. The young farmers’ clubs also provide life skills that are used in public office, including public speaking, the arts and chairing meetings, for young people in our rural communities. Children’s services are devolved in Wales, but all those things are supported by our local authority. Does the hon. Member agree that adequate local authority funding is essential to safeguard these services for all our young people?

Yes, I do agree. If we want the young futures hubs and other youth initiatives to succeed, we need to invest in training and development for youth workers. I urge the Government to consider a national training programme for youth workers to ensure that we have safe, effective and impactful youth provision. Good youth services change lives. Over the past months, I have met and heard stories from national organisations, and I have seen at first hand the incredible work done on the ground in Huddersfield. All of that highlights the transformative effects of providing young people with safe spaces, trusted relationships and pathways to brighter futures. I know from first-hand experience that when young people are given the right support, they go on to achieve their potential, contribute to their communities and lead happier, healthier lives. Unfortunately, too many times I have seen talent squandered. We must ensure that every young person, no matter where they live, has access to high-quality youth services. The evidence is clear: investment in youth work is an investment in the future of our young people and our country. If we want to meet our growth ambitions, that also means investing in our young people. I thank hon. Members for intervening, and I look forward to hearing from the Minister how we can work together to restart and strengthen youth provision across the country.

16:20:00

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship for the first time, Dr Allin-Khan. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield (Harpreet Uppal) on securing this important debate. It is brilliant to see so many Members from across the House, which reflects how important this issue is to Members. Slightly unusually, because this is only a 30-minute debate, not a 90-minute debate, I will respond to some of the points made in interventions. If I cannot respond to them all, or I cannot take all Members’ interventions, I will of course write to hon. Members. My hon. Friends the Members for Stoke-on-Trent North (David Williams) and for Manchester Rusholme (Afzal Khan) raised important points about regional inequalities. As a constituency MP in South Yorkshire, I have of course seen that in my own area of Barnsley. We are looking at a pilot of a local youth transformation project, which could look at areas where local authority funding has fallen away, and we will of course take regional inequalities into account. Rightly, the issue of mental health was raised, and I will touch on it in my speech. Evidence shows that youth services of course have a positive impact, and my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield spoke powerfully about that. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who is no longer in his place, spoke about faith groups, and we are working with them in programmes such as Uniformed Youth. The hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion (Siân Berry) had specific questions, and I will touch on them in my speech, but I will also write to her if I do not answer them fully. I want to say from the outset that we want a more co-ordinated cross-Government approach, which, again, is something I would like to touch on. There were specific questions about the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, and I will write to my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield about that. She also rightly and powerfully referenced the devastating impact of knife crime, and I send my and the Government’s condolences to the family of Harvey, who was tragically killed in Sheffield last week. I want now to address some of the substantial points, and I will write to hon. Members if I cannot take all their interventions. In the short time I have, I want to start my response by outlining that the Government recognise the transformative role that youth services play in young people’s lives. We know that being part of a supportive community and having access to positive activities can improve a young person’s wellbeing, health and personal development. We also know that youth workers and volunteers are vital to these services, building trusting relationships, creating safe spaces and, where needed, providing life-changing, targeted support. We have strong evidence of the impact of trusted adults in youth clubs, sports clubs, early support hubs, jobcentres and even in A&E. We also know that the workforce situation is fragile. Local authority spending on youth has reduced by 73% since 2010. That equates to over £1 billion less being spent on young people each year. Sustainable jobs are becoming a rarity, and co-ordination of support has been lost. Now more than ever we need a thriving youth sector staffed by trained professionals and supported by incredible volunteers. Young people today face complex challenges, from navigating social media and new technologies to experiencing at first hand the devastating effects of antisocial behaviour, crime and violence. It is undeniable that those challenges, and therefore the way we tackle them, are constantly changing. Talent and potential exist in every postcode in this country, but opportunity does not. Fewer than half of all respondents to our youth participation survey agree that there are enough clubs and activities in their area. As the Member of Parliament for Barnsley South, I know about the huge contribution and value of organisations such as the Barnsley Youth Choir, with hundreds of young people taking part and young people across Barnsley being given amazing experiences, opportunities and skills. Since becoming the Minister with responsibility for youth, I have been pleased to visit youth organisations, from the Really NEET project in Rotherham to Sport at the Heart in Brent.

Recently, it was announced that one of the youth centres that has been saved in my constituency is the Concord youth centre, which serves one of the most deprived wards in the country. I would welcome the Minister visiting it at the earliest opportunity.

I am grateful for that kind invitation, and I will do my best to visit in the near future. Although the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is the lead Department for out-of-school youth provision, as a former teacher and a constituency MP who visits schools regularly, I know that support for young people is a challenge that can and should be met across Government. That is why the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport announced in November last year the co-production of an ambitious new national youth strategy. That strategy will put young people back in charge of their own destiny, providing them with meaningful choices and chances. We have now begun our engagement with young people and the sectors that work with them, as part of the co-production process. We kick-started that process back in November, when I had the opportunity to meet a group of #iWill ambassadors. They told me how important it is for local areas to empower their young people, and they also raised concerns about mental health, youth loneliness, education and work opportunities. I have also met other stakeholders in the sector, such as Girlguiding, the Youth Endowment Fund and the National Association of Boys and Girls Clubs, to listen to those who work closely with young people and who provide them with access to trusted adults, safe spaces and new opportunities.

Will the Minister give way?

I am really sorry, but in the interests of time, I will make some progress. Those stakeholders experience youth work at first hand, and it is vital we hear from them about the challenges that young people and the sector face, as we build the national youth strategy. A vital part of co-producing the strategy will take place through our youth advisory board and the expert advisory group, both of which will be involved throughout the strategy development process. They will provide expertise, challenge and a diverse range of perspectives. I joined the first meeting of the expert advisory group, and I look forward to dropping into a meeting of the youth advisory group soon. Its members have already provided a wealth of valuable information, which will of course inform our thinking. In addition to listening to the insights from those groups, we are engaging in a number of other ways to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to have their say—particularly those whose voices are too often excluded. We will work closely with expert organisations, which will lead a range of engagement activities with young people. That includes a wide-reaching national survey asking about young people’s needs, challenges and priorities, which we will launch very soon. The survey is currently being finalised in conjunction with our expert groups. I do not want to pre-empt what it will include, but I would expect it to cover a wide range of issues, such as what young people’s current needs are, whether they have access to safe spaces, what they would like to have access to outside of school, and much more. The expert organisations will also be conducting in-depth focus groups and innovative events with young people to develop solutions.

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I am really sorry, but in the interests of time, I will make more progress. We will provide more information to MPs within the next month regarding the development of the national youth strategy. That will include an engagement toolkit so that MPs can run their own workshops and discussions with young people or share this toolkit with organisations in their constituencies that work with young people. We will also share information regarding the national survey once it is live. It is vital that we reach young people from all parts of the country, and we will be asking MPs to help with that. As I have set out, the national youth strategy is being led by my Department. However, increasing access to universal and targeted youth provision is a shared mission across Government. Therefore, we want the national youth strategy to co-ordinate the work of Government, helping to ensure that all young people from every corner of the country have access to the services they need. My hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield specifically raised the young futures hubs, which will be placed in local communities to improve the way that young people can access opportunities. My Department is working closely with the Department for Education, the Home Office and others to take that forward. Tomorrow, the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend for Lewisham East (Janet Daby), and I will co-chair the first meeting of the young futures ministerial group, which sits under the safer streets mission board. That will be the first step towards delivering a new cross-Government approach to supporting young people. Today’s debate has focused on young people’s access to universal and targeted provision. This Government are committed to delivering on our national missions, and young people and their access to the opportunities they deserve form a vital part of that. We have an opportunity, through the national youth strategy, to work collectively, and across Government, to set a new direction for young people, listening to their needs and responding through universal and targeted youth provision. The debate has been incredibly popular, and I am sorry I have not been able to take all the interventions. This has been a great opportunity to showcase the role of youth provision and the difference it makes to young people, and I look forward to seeing what we do together. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield once again on securing this important debate. Question put and agreed to.