Written questions by Williams.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department are taking to address the deteriorating condition and poor maintenance of national heritage buildings in and around Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove.

This government recognises the impact that the deterioration of heritage buildings can have on local communities, including those in Stoke-on-Trent. I am aware the Minister for Heritage, Baroness Twycross will be meeting with you in the coming weeks to discuss Stoke-on-Trent’s heritage in more detail.The recently announced £1.5 billion funding allocation for the Arts Everywhere Package includes nearly £200 million new spend, across multiple years, for protecting and preserving heritage buildings across the country and giving funding certainty to the end of the parliament, including £60 million for at risk heritage which provides grants towards repairs and conservation of historic buildings and £42 million for the Heritage Revival Fund, which helps communities to take control of and look after local heritage and bring buildings back into public use.Funding is administered through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Arms-Length Bodies. Since 2006, Historic England has invested more than £7 million in 36 projects in the Stoke-on-Trent area and actively engages with Stoke-on-Trent with advice to support the local authority and heritage owners.Similarly, since 1994, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded more than £11m to 53 projects in the constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North, and more than £34m in 161 projects in Stoke-on-Trent as a whole. This includes the September 2024 grant of £249,954 in support of Re-Form Heritage, an organisation that transforms historic buildings at risk for the benefit of the local and wider community. Focused on organisational resilience, this award builds on past Lottery investment, which has supported the organisation to redevelop the Grade II* listed Middleport Pottery and the neighbouring Harper Street, which was once home to pottery workers.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the need for the National Youth Strategy to register the importance of long-term sustainable revenue funding in providing youth services.

The Government will publish the National Youth Strategy this summer. The detail and scale of the funding commitments included in the strategy will be shaped by engagement with young people and the youth sector and will be dependent on Spending Review decisions.In 2025/6, DCMS funding for Youth will include over £85 million of capital funding to create fit-for-purpose spaces in places where it is most needed. This includes the £26 million Better Youth Spaces Fund for youth clubs to buy new equipment and do renovations, the Local Youth Transformation Fund to start the journey of building back lost capability in local areas and completion of Youth Investment Fund projects underway.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure youth voice is integrated into the new national youth strategy.

The National Youth Strategy will be co-produced in partnership with young people and the youth sector. DCMS has already conducted Ministerial roundtables with young people and over the next couple of months will conduct a number of different engagement activities with young people, including focus groups. In the coming weeks, we will be launching a wide-reaching survey, and a series of youth engagement activities across the country to ask young people about their issues and priorities. We have also set up a Youth Advisory Group and an Expert Advisory Group to work alongside us throughout the development of the strategy.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reallocating the funding for National Citizen Service to the youth sector from April 2025.

We appreciate the disappointment many will be feeling following the decision to wind down the NCS programme from March 2025 and close the NCS Trust when parliamentary time allows.This Government acknowledges the great work NCS have done over the years providing thousands of young people from all backgrounds with opportunities to become ‘work-ready and world-ready’.We also acknowledge the challenges facing the sector and the changing needs of the young people it supports. That is why this government has launched the co-production of an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which will be developed together with young people and the youth sector.Funding allocations for specific programmes will be communicated in due course.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to invest in heritage buildings in (a) Stoke-on-Trent North constituency and (b) Kidsgrove.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is committed to investing in heritage buildings, ensuring these buildings serve the needs of local communities. Historic England, the government’s statutory advisors, have taken several steps to do this through;...

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to encourage more people to (a) enter the youth sector workforce and (b) become youth workers.

This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and the vital role that youth workers play in delivering those services and building trusted relationships.This government has committed to...

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the accessibility of cultural activities in (a) Stoke-on-Trent North constituency and (b) Kidsgrove.

After 14 years of indifference and cultural vandalism, this government is committed to making sure that arts and cultural activities will no longer be the preserve of a privileged few.DCMS supports its Arms Length Body, Arts Council England (ACE), to impr...

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to provide youth services with adequate funding in (a) Stoke-on-Trent North constituency and (b) Kidsgrove.

As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, 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. This...

Media and Sport, what her planned timetable is for introducing a National Youth Strategy.

On 17 October, the Secretary of State committed to a new National Youth Strategy, co-produced with young people and the youth sector to support a generation to succeed. Further details will be shared in due course.