The government has reduced the value of the Youth Investment Fund to around £350m, the Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) has confirmed.
DCMS told Civil Society News that in light of a “challenging financial climate” £31m of the previously £380m fund’s capital was given back to the Treasury as part of its latest spending review.
The fund was originally announced as worth £500m in 2019 by former chancellor Sajid Javid.
UK Youth said that “reducing the total package of financial support for local youth provision is short-sighted”.
Meanwhile, the National Youth Agency (NYA), which has partnered with Social Investment Business, Key Fund and Resonance to deliver the second phase of the fund, said it is “unfortunate” that the original amount earmarked for the fund has been reduced.
Funding cut ‘short-sighted’
Earlier this week, DCMS announced the 43 beneficiaries of a £90m portion of the fund’s “overall total of over £300m” to rebuild or regenerate youth services across the country.
An initial £12m from the fund was given to 419 organisations last year to help them expand the reach and range of services they offer.
DCMS said that the fund received overwhelming demand for capital funding but that a high volume of applications was at an early stage of development to be considered for the initiative.
“In the face of a challenging financial climate, £31m of the fund’s capital has been given back to the Treasury as part of the most recent spending review,” it added.
Ndidi Okezie, chief executive of UK Youth, said: “We appreciate that the country is facing a challenging financial climate where difficult choices are having to be made, but the government must realise that increasing investment in access to quality youth work is not just a moral imperative, it has much wider economic value.
“Our Untapped report proves that investment in youth work for young people actually saves the taxpayer money – whether through improving employment, health outcomes or reducing crime – so reducing the total package of financial support for local youth provision is short-sighted and hurts the country in the long-term.”
NYA’s chief executive officer Leigh Middleton added: “It is unfortunate that the original amount earmarked for the Youth Investment Fund has been reduced.
“However, the programme remains on track to deliver up to 300 new or refurbished buildings to provide opportunities for 45,000 young people to socialise, learn and grow with the support of youth workers and skilled volunteers.”
Original £500m fund plan
The Youth Investment Fund was originally worth £500m when first announced by then chancellor Sajid Javid in 2019.
Then in September 2021, a spokesperson for the former Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “The £500m Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for this parliament.”
But last year, the fund was reduced to £380m, with the government announcing that it would be part of a larger £560m investment called the National Youth Guarantee which aims to give young people more access to activities, trips away from home and volunteering opportunities.
Now, DCMS has said that while the National Youth Guarantee remains at £560m, the Youth Investment Fund has been cut by £31m.
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