In a House of Commons speech on 17 October, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy highlighted the troubling lack of national youth strategy and declared that the new government is ‘determined to grip this issue’. She also praised youth workers and described the youth funding decrease of 73 percent as ‘a source of national shame’.
Tony Gallagher OBE, Chair of the National Youth Sector Advisory Board said: “The news that the government recognises the value of youth work and a need for a National Youth Strategy is welcomed by the NYSAB. We have worked together over the past few years to design a vision of quality and consistent youth work for all young people, clearly mapped in our Roadmap to National Youth Strategy, and are delighted to see the board’s overarching policy recommendation for a long-term plan for youth adopted by Government.”
”“With a growing body of evidence to show the transformative impact of youth work on the health, safety, and life chances of our young people, we are keen to inform the design of the National Youth Strategy to ensure that support is equitable, youth voice led and informed by our collective expertise and beacons of best practice.”
Tony Gallagher OBEChair of the National Youth Sector Advisory Board
Developed in consultation with youth sector experts within the NYSAB and with young people, and aligning with the Back Youth Alliance’s vision for youth, the Roadmap to a National Youth Strategy sets out 15 policy recommendations for national government to bring about a step-change in the way that youth work is recognised and to get youth work better integrated into local strategies and multi-agency pathways.
”“We’re very pleased to hear Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, recognising the depths of the youth sector funding cuts, along with the transformative impact of youth workers who are continuing to deliver for young people amid this challenging environment.”
Leigh Middleton OBENational Youth Agency Chief Executive
Leigh Middleton OBE, CEO, NYA continued his response: “We’re also delighted that the Secretary of State has committed to delivering a National Youth Strategy. We’ve been advocating for the need for a national strategy for over a year through the National Youth Sector Advisory Board’s Roadmap to National Youth Strategy and our own manifesto. We’re looking forward to working with the Secretary of State, young people and the youth sector to develop this.”
In her powerful speech, Lisa Nandy stated:
“It is a source of national shame that under the last government youth funding decreased by 73 percent – one of the deepest cuts made to any of our public services and more that there was no real strategy for a generation of young people – this government is determined to grip it to ensure that young people… have the opportunities that they deserve.
I would be delighted to pay tribute to the youth workers up and down this country who have done incredible work being a lifeline for young people in what has been a very bleak landscape for too long.
We’re absolutely determined to grip this issue… one of the things that we discovered when we opened the book, as a new government, is that there are several sources of funding within my department and across government but there is no strategy for youth in government at all.
We are determined to set that right. We will develop and coproduce a strategy for a generation of young people alongside them and working with the incredible youth workers… in order to support a generation to succeed.”
Watch the comments from the House of Commons speech here
