Written questions by Uppal.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the reduction in local authority spending on youth services since 2010 on those services; and will she consider embedding minimum sufficiency benchmarks within the forthcoming National Youth Strategy.

This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. This is why we are launching a new National Youth Strategy, to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.The Local Youth Transformation Pilot is a new programme to support local authorities to meet their statutory duty, through investing £8 million over 2025/26 to support 12 ‘Pathfinder’ local authorities to start to rebuild a high-quality offer for young people and transition back to local youth services leadership. The pilot will test ways to rebuild local authority capability to ensure a local youth offer which addresses the needs of young people and supports government priorities.

Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to open Young Futures Hubs in every local authority area.

Responsibility for the cross-Government Young Futures Hubs programme transferred from the Department for Education to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 1st September. On Tuesday 15th July, the Prime Minister set out plans to open 50 hubs over the next four years. Up to £2m is being made available for 8 Early Adopters Local Authorities, in areas of high-knife crime and/or antisocial behaviour, so that the first Young Futures Hubs will be operational later this financial year. Early Adopters will select the precise location of their Young Futures Hub based on local needs. More information will be shared in due course. The design and implementation of the programme in future years will be informed by our work with early adopters.

Media and Sport, on what basis her Department determines locations of Young Futures Hubs; and if any locations have already been decided.

Responsibility for the cross-Government Young Futures Hubs programme transferred from the Department for Education to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 1st September. On Tuesday 15th July, the Prime Minister set out plans to open 50 hubs over the next four years. Up to £2m is being made available for 8 Early Adopters Local Authorities, in areas of high-knife crime and/or antisocial behaviour, so that the first Young Futures Hubs will be operational later this financial year. Early Adopters will select the precise location of their Young Futures Hub based on local needs. More information will be shared in due course. The design and implementation of the programme in future years will be informed by our work with early adopters.

Media and Sport, what funding her Department provides to help support local cultural (a) events and (b) awards that seek to celebrate the (i) heritage and (ii) creativity of (A) Huddersfield and (B) similar towns.

The department primarily funds such aspects through Arts Council England (ACE) which supports organisations through their National Portfolio (NPOs) programme which provides funding of over £450 million a year to arts organisations across the country, many of which provide programmes that celebrate creativity and heritage. In addition, ACE’s open funding programme, National Lottery Project Grants, is currently accessible to organisations and individuals across the country, including those in Huddersfield and similar sized towns. This programme provides over £100 million of support annually to individuals and organisations. In Huddersfield for example, ACE supports a number of NPOs such as the annual Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Lawrence Batley Theatre which hosts a wide ranging year-round programme which includes dance shows, dramas and top comedians. ACE is also supporting Kirklees council in the creation of a new Cultural Strategy. Historic England and National Lottery Heritage Fund also distribute funding on behalf of the department aimed at enabling communities to celebrate their heritage and champion historic places. Historic England delivers grant schemes such as Everyday Heritage Grants and History in the Making which focuses on projects that celebrate working class histories and enables communities to celebrate their local history. The National Lottery Heritage Fund funds a broad range of projects that connect people and communities to the UK's heritage. Their funding can be used for a range of heritage projects including commemorations and celebrations of communities, places or events, and exploring cultural traditions within a place.

Media and Sport, how many local authorities have not fulfilled their statutory duty to provide recreational leisure-time activities for young people; and what steps the Government are taking to support those local authorities.

The Government does not hold the data requested. Local authorities fund youth services from their Local Government Settlement in line with local need, and this was increased to more than £69 billion in 2025/26 - a 6.8% increase in cash terms compared to 2024/25.Additionally, we will be launching the Local Youth Transformation pilot this year, which will support local authorities to build back capability to improve local youth offers. We will share more information in due course.

Media and Sport, whether she has held discussions with representatives of young people on the development of the national youth strategy.

Both the Secretary of State and I have conducted roundtables with young people and over the coming months will conduct a number of different engagement activities with young people, including focus groups.In addition, a Youth Advisory Group was established in December 2024 to support DCMS to develop the National Youth Strategy. It will form a key part of the co-production of the National Youth Strategy, ensuring young people have a decision-making role throughout the process by providing expertise, challenge and a range of perspectives.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support local authorities to provide statutory services for young people.

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. At the Autumn Budget, we announced £1.3 billion of extra funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement for the next financial year.In 2025/26, we will be launching the Local Youth Transformation pilot which will support local authorities to build back capability in the youth space and improve local youth offers.We are developing a new National Youth Strategy co-produced with young people, which will set out a new vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this. We will be publishing an interim report this spring and the Strategy will be published this summer.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to increase funding for youth services.

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. At the Autumn Budget, we announced £1.3 billion of extra funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement for the next financial year.We are developing a new National Youth Strategy co-produced with young people, which will set out a new vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this. We will be publishing an interim report this spring and the Strategy will be published this summer.Funding allocations for specific programmes in 2025/26 will be communicated in due course, following the completion of business planning. It will include:Over £85 million of capital funding to create fit-for-purpose spaces in places where it is most needed. This includes the Better Youth Spaces Fund - £26 million 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;Completion of Youth Investment Fund projects underway.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) youth and (b) other preventative services on (i) social cohesion and (ii) the economy.

Youth work is estimated to have an indirect economic value of £3.2 billion, including £0.5 billion from decreased crime, £1.7 billion from improved health, and £0.8 billion from increased employment and education. There is also evidence that youth social action has positive impacts on young people’s sense of belonging and active citizenship, as well as inter-generational relationships and communities’ feelings of pride in local areas.

Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of consulting with young people on cross-government decision-making processes.

This Government recognises the value of effective youth participation in decision making at all levels. We understand this leads to impactful policy locally, regionally and nationally.Youth consultation opportunities are taking place across government: As announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education have established a Youth Guarantee Advisory Panel to help shape the design and development of the Youth Guarantee.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government recently convened two roundtables with young people to inform work on their long term strategy for communities. Young people have been invited to participate in an online debate run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to help inform the revision of the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan. The DCMS-led new National Youth Strategy will be co-produced with young people. We have already conducted Ministerial roundtables with young people and over the coming months will conduct a number of different youth engagement activities. We have set up a Youth Advisory Group to work alongside us throughout the development of the Strategy, and will shortly launch a national survey to ask young people about their issues and priorities.The Secretary of State has written to all MPs to encourage them to engage with young people in their constituencies in support of the Strategy. This included an engagement toolkit so MPs can run their own workshops and discussions with young people, or encourage organisations in their constituencies who work with young people to do the same.