Written questions by Dean.

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.

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.

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.