The NYA reflects on political party conferences 2024

With a record 72 new Liberal Democrat Party MPs, a change in the governing party and a Conservative Party leadership contest, the recent party conferences heralded a fresh opportunity for all those committed to putting youth work at the centre of policymaking. 

We were pleased to see young people and the lifechanging impact of youth work at the heart of many of the discussions, particularly as part of the prevention agenda.  

As we look ahead to the Autumn Budget this month, we hope young people and youth work will be a top priority for parliamentarians across the political spectrum and that the cross-sector discussions at party conferences continue far beyond them. 

Here are some key moments for youth work at this year’s events. 

The NYA collaborated with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) and YMCA England and Wales on a fringe event entitled ‘A Fair Deal for Young People: Championing Youth Work and Enrichment’. Harriet McCann, NYA  Director of Policy and Communications, spoke about the importance of rebuilding the youth work workforce and emphasised the preventative upstream power of youth work.

DofE Youth Ambassador, Katrina, reflected on the positive impact youth work has had on her life and Bobby Dean, MP, spoke powerfully about the importance of youth workers as role models helping to raise aspirations: “If young people don’t see youth workers in their communities, they won’t want to aspire to be them”. You can read the X thread for the event from YMCA here.

UK Young Ambassadors Maurizio and Jasmine, the nation’s youth voice representatives on the international stage, came along to conference with the NYA and delivered compelling speeches at the Youth Zone reception centred on the importance of protecting youth voice at regional, national and local level in the wake of the British Youth Council’s closure earlier this year. Young people were at the very forefront of the reception, with young hosts from Youth Focus North West leading the proceedings and sharing their lived experience. 

The NYA also hosted an event on ‘A right to youth work for all young people; what does sufficient quality and effective provision look like?’ to build on our 2024 Manifesto and the National Youth Sector Advisory Board’s Roadmap to a National Youth Strategy. The event highlighted the importance of youth work as an early intervention and the burden and cost to other services – and young people – of neglecting youth service funding for organisations. Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza passionately reflected that “Youth work provides a great solution.

The children of England are crying out for great youth provision”, while Clare Moody, Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset, spoke on the dangers of not having enough youth services: “Without enough youth workers, children are at higher risk of exploitation”. Officer for the APPG on Youth Affairs, Lauren Sullivan MP, stated powerfully what the youth sector is calling on all policymakers to heed: “I know from my own experience and many around me, it works. Youth work works”. 

You can read our X thread on the event here.

You can also watch our video from the panel of Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, here.

Leigh Middleton OBE, CEO of the NYA, spoke at the Youth Zone reception on the importance of protecting, recognising and investing in the country’s vital youth services and banging the drum for youth work.  

He also joined StreetGames for an important discussion on the value of sport, exploring the role youth work and access to opportunities both in and outside of school can play in transforming young people’s future outcomes. Read our Youth Work with Schools review for more on this. Leigh also joined UK Youth for a roundtable discussion on the importance of innovative partnerships with businesses to support positive opportunities for young people, bringing our work with NatWest Group as learning.  

Whilst there have been positive noises by politicians, we’re anxious to see the youth work sector is given the political backing it warrants to meet the needs of young people, currently grappling with unprecedented challenges. 

NYA is committed, as per our Strategy (2024-2029), to taking forward the important discussions and momentum from party conferences to strive to achieve recognition for the socio-economic importance of youth work. We will continue our dialogue with parliamentarians and across sectors beyond party conferences to bang the drum for youth work and will work to build the evidence base. 

If you have any localised research, evidence or case studies about youth work that might help us in our mission, please get in touch at policy@nya.org.uk