The Youth Sector is a diverse landscape made up of a rich and varied range of youth and community organisations, Local Authority run services, professional youth workers and volunteers, providing young people with somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to outside of school.
The sector has faced significant challenges in response to the pandemic, and has risen to the challenge, with youth workers recognised as key workers providing crucial support to young people during this difficult time. Government also stepped up its support, providing over £100m from our Charities Recovery Fund for charities supporting children and young people during the pandemic, in addition to the £15.6 million Youth Covid Support Fund which provided emergency funding for 550 youth services.
At the 2020 Spending Review, the Treasury announced a DCMS-led Youth Review. A key part of this review was to engage with as many young people as possible, to incorporate their opinions and experiences into both the policy-making and decision-making processes. Throughout the review, DCMS engaged with around 6,000 young people across the country, 170 youth sector organisations and academics. This engagement and the feedback collected has been, and will continue to be, vital in informing future youth policy.
Through the Youth Review, DCMS has set out a clear direction for our out-of-school youth agenda, ensuring that our spending and programmes meet the needs of young people as well as our ambitions on ‘levelling up’.
Related Resources
1) Levelling Up the United Kingdom
2) Levelling up our communities: proposals for a new social covenant
