Written questions by Dean.

What steps he is taking to support individuals over 50 back into employment.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided on 17 March 2026 to question: UIN 119633.

What steps his Department is taking to support people over the age of 50 out of work to return to work.

Work helps everyone play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement, and we recognise the wealth of skills and experience that older workers bring both to the workplace and the economy. The Department is committed to supporting people over the age of 50 out of work to return to work through a wide-ranging strategy that promotes inclusion, flexibility, and progression. We provide additional dedicated support for customers aged 50 and over in Jobcentres, including through our 50PLUS Champions, who ensure that the specific needs of this age group are recognised and met. This includes facilitating engagement with local employers, promoting age inclusive policies, and supporting work coaches to deliver activity locally. We also offer the Midlife MOT, which helps individuals assess their health, skills and finances, and directs them to appropriate guidance to support their return to work. In addition, our Employer and Partnership Teams work closely with local employers and partners to expand the opportunities, training and employment support available to jobseekers aged 50 and over.As part of our wider plans to Get Britain Working and create a new Jobs and Careers Service, we are reforming employment support to make it more inclusive and better tailored to individuals. This includes strengthening the support we offer to people aged 50 and over to help them move back into good, meaningful work and progress in work.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to introduce new duties on councils to deliver youth services.

As set out in the National Youth Strategy, we will explore reviewing the current local authorities’ statutory duty for youth services and how to empower local authorities to better deliver on their responsibilities for youth services.DCMS recognises the importance of ensuring that Local Authorities are appropriately supported to deliver safe and effective youth provision. DCMS has committed £70 million over the next three years to support local authorities to rebuild a high-quality offer for young people and create a network of 50 Young Futures Hubs.

Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to increase revenue funding for youth services.

‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy’ is a 10 year plan to ensure every young person across the country has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of.The strategy is supported by more than £500 million in funding from DCMS over the next three years, including £150 million in revenue funding. Additionally, the government’s ‘Every Child Can’ programme is backed by £132.5m of dormant assets to break down barriers for disadvantaged young people to access to culture, sport and enrichment opportunitiesThrough working with philanthropists, social impact investors, and businesses to unlock match funding, we aim to increase the revenue funding available for youth services and support them further.

Media and Sport, what discussions she had with Cabinet colleagues on the implementation of the National Youth Strategy.

On 10th December 2025, we published ‘Youth Matters’, the first cross-government Strategy for young people in England in 15 years. Backed by £500m of DCMS funding over the next 3 years, the Strategy will ensure every young person has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of.We regularly engaged with Cabinet colleagues to develop the Strategy and are continuing to work closely to ensure successful delivery and sharing of evidence, including through interministerial meetings on the Young Futures Hubs and a thematic Value for Money review to better align government youth provision spending with the Strategy.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed retrospective changes to settlement requirements for European Communities Association Agreement visa holders on levels of migration for each of the next five years.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ’A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was subject to a 12 week public consultation, which closed on 12 February 2026.The consultation sought views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement, such as those currently on European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA) visas. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the ECAA route will continue to apply. We will continue to meet our international obligations.Details of the earned settlement model will now be finalised following the consultation and will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

What assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the economic contribution to the UK of (a) holders of European Communities Association Agreement Turkish Businessperson visas and (b) their businesses in the UK.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ’A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was subject to a 12 week public consultation, which closed on 12 February 2026.The consultation sought views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement, such as those currently on European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA) visas. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the ECAA route will continue to apply. We will continue to meet our international obligations.Details of the earned settlement model will now be finalised following the consultation and will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support cross-Departmental coordination of the implementation of the National Youth Strategy.

Increasing support for young people to improve opportunities is a shared mission across Government. The National Youth Strategy led by DCMS and co-designed by young people and the youth sector, will set a cross-government direction for the next decade to provide young people with the skills, opportunities, and connections to enable them to thrive. It is the first cross-government strategy for young people in England in 20 years.We have regularly engaged with Cabinet colleagues to develop this Strategy. The Strategy will be published later this year.

Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the development of the National Youth Strategy, including on aligning youth employment policy.

Increasing support for young people to improve opportunities is a shared mission across Government. The National Youth Strategy led by DCMS and co-designed by young people and the youth sector, will set a cross-government direction for the next decade to provide young people with the skills, opportunities, and connections to enable them to thrive. It is the first cross-government strategy for young people in England in 20 years. We have regularly engaged with Cabinet colleagues to develop this Strategy, including with the Department for Education and with the Department for Work and Pensions on the Youth Guarantee.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the ADHD taskforce in helping to reduce waiting lists for ADHD treatment in (a) Hertford and Stortford constituency, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) England.

It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment and treatment, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.The independent ADHD taskforce, commissioned by NHS England, is bringing together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, education, charity, and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. An interim report was published on 20 June. The ADHD taskforce's final report is expected to be published later this year, and we will carefully consider its recommendations.

What recent assessment his Department has made on the potential merits of using (a) local and (b) regional newspapers for government advertising.

The Government selects media channels for communications based on reaching target audiences effectively. The Government values the important role of local and regional newspapers and is developing a Local Media Strategy. As part of this, the Cabinet Office and DCMS are exploring how to better utilise local press for government advertising.

Media and Sport, what recent progress her Department has made on developing the National Youth Strategy.

The Secretary of State was pleased to announce the new National Youth Strategy, stating the Department’s commitment to delivering a strategy by and for young people through the most ambitious listening exercise in a generation. We have launched our nation-wide survey, with over 10,000 responses to date, and are holding events across all regions with young people and the youth sector. Our Youth and Expert Advisory Groups are now established and guiding us in our development. We will publish the strategy in the summer, with an interim report in the coming months.

What financial support is available for school-owned leisure centres that have had departmental funding removed following changes to the Educational and Skills Funding Agency.

In previous years, some local authorities have applied to the department to request approval to allocate additional funding for schools with leisure facilities, as ’exceptional circumstances’ funding, within their local funding formulae. The department is not yet in a position to confirm how ’exceptional circumstances’ funding will operate for 2025/26 but will do so in due course.