Committee publication · Correspondence · 20 May 2025
Letter from Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, regarding the youth budget, dated 15 May 2025
From: Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Inquiry: The work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Summary
Letter from Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to the Select Committee Chair outlining the department's youth budget for 2025/26. The government is investing over £145 million in youth programmes following the November 2024 decision to wind down the National Citizen Service and close the NCS Trust. Funding prioritises enriching activities, workforce development, local authority support, and youth centre infrastructure during transition to a new National Youth Strategy.
Key findings
- Over £145 million committed to youth programmes in 2025/26, including £28 million for enriching activities and opportunities
- £3 million allocated to increase sector and workforce capacity for youth worker recruitment and training
- £8.2 million to improve local youth offers and support local authorities' statutory duty to provide leisure activities
- Over £107 million to invest in safe, welcoming, fit-for-purpose youth centres
- National Youth Strategy development informed by engagement with over 14,000 young people through surveys, focus groups, and regional roundtables; interim report 'Today's Youth, Tomorrow's Nation' to be published
Tone
FactualTopics
Key actors
Lisa Nandy MP, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, National Citizen Service, NCS Trust, Local authorities
Notable line
“… investment of over £145 million in youth programmes, which includes: • Over £28 million to increase access to more and better enriching activities …”
Key Quotes
“On 12 November, I announced the wind-down of the National Citizen Service programme, and closure of the NCS Trust, and committed to a co-production of a new National Youth Strategy that is fit for the decade ahead”
“Young people's needs have never been more complex, but together, we will drive the transition to a future in which young people have choices and chances and local communities are empowered to support a generation to succeed.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗