fbpx Our statement on the Youth Investment Fund - London Youth
Westminster

01 October 2019

On Monday 30th September at the Conservative Party Conference, the Chancellor announced further details about the £500 million Youth Investment Fund. The fund was previously announced in the Spending Round 2019.


Our statement in response to the announcement:

London Youth welcomes the Chancellor’s commitment to invest £500 million in youth services over the next five years through the new Youth Investment Fund. Youth work plays a vital role in strengthening communities and improving the lives of young people, but has been devastated by almost a decade of underfunding.

We strongly believe that it’s youth work that young people need first and foremost, while there is also a need to improve the physical infrastructure of youth services and ensure that young people have high-quality spaces. As a sector, we have learnt the lesson that great youth work is more than the facilities in which it takes place. We are concerned that established grassroots youth organisations will be overlooked. These organisations, including the almost two thirds of London Youth’s members who do not own their own facilities, should not miss out on much-needed support for their fantastic work with young people because they don’t own a building.

We strongly encourage the Government to prioritise the development of trusted relationships and engaging activities. The Government should consider the needs of grassroots youth organisations, who are doing great work with young people in every part of London and around the country.

We call on the Government to consult community youth organisation on the support that they need and reiterate an open invitation to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) to connect them with our network of 450+ youth organisations in every part of London. We will continue to engage positively with the Government on how this much-needed source of support for the youth sector can deliver the most for young people.


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Samuel Howell, Policy Officer

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