Backing Youth Work to Build Communities

Chair: Cllr Darryl Smalley; Aide: Lord Mohammed; Hall Aide: Cllr Hannah Kitching.

Submitted by: 12 party members
Mover: Munira Wilson MP (Spokesperson on Education, Children and Families).
Summation: Josh Babarinde MP (Spokesperson for Justice).

Conference notes:

1. Access to high-quality youth work, whether delivered through open–access youth centres, targeted providers tackling disadvantage, uniformed services like scouts or guides, or programmes like the Duke of Edinburgh Award, can change the lives of young people.
2. Investment in youth work yields a significant social return on investment, with between £3.20 to £6.40 in savings for every pound spent, by reducing demand for more expensive acute services in the NHS and criminal justice system.
3. Persistent under–investment in youth work in recent years has seen many youth centres close, and many youth workers leave the sector.
4. Youth service closures have been linked by studies to increases in crimes among 10–18 year olds living nearby, while another study showed teenagers in areas affected by such closures suffered ‘large decreases in performance’ in their GCSEs.
5. Severe pressures on the youth sector workforce are negatively impacting the reach and availability of youth provision across the country.
6. A 2024 survey by OnSide found a clear desire amongst young people for more affordable leisure activities and safe, fun places to socialise and learn new skills.
7. The same survey found that smartphones are the most time–consuming activity for children, that 48% of young people spend most of their free time in their bedroom and that high levels of young people struggle with feelings of anxiety and loneliness.

Conference welcomes the Government’s commitment to bringing forward a National Youth Strategy during 2025 and to use Dormant Assets Scheme funding to support youth services provision, but recognises that for any such strategy to be successful will require strong, measurable commitment to delivery from Government.

Conference believes that:

1. Youth work can be a key tool in helping every young person to achieve their potential.
2. High–quality youth work can act as a preventative service, helping young people to avoid negative outcomes like involvement in crime or anti–social behaviour, or being Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).
3. Youth work provision can lead to improved mental and physical health, strengthened life skills, and a heightened sense of belonging for young people that supports social cohesion.
4. To be effective, a National Youth Strategy must recognise the vital importance of both targeted and open–access youth work, and must put in place clear, measurable steps to:
   1. Improve local access to youth services throughout the country.
   2. Improve facilities and infrastructure at youth centres.
   3. Boost recruitment and retention to ensure that enough youth workers are active in the sector and able to continue a long–term career in the sector.
5. Youth services can often be ideally placed to deliver vital opportunities for outdoor education for the benefit of young people.
6. In making decisions about young people’s lives and the services available to them, it is crucial to ensure the voices of those young people are heard.

Conference reaffirms Liberal Democrat calls for:

1. A Cabinet Minister for Children and Young People.
2. Investment in youth services that are genuinely engaging and reach more young people.

Conference therefore calls on the Government to:

1. Commit to a fair, long–term funding settlement to support youth work, resources and infrastructure.
2. Ensure the National Youth Strategy prioritises high–quality targeted and open–access work, with clear metrics for delivery.
3. Support charity–run youth services to leverage non–governmental funding, building on the model of Regional Youth Work Units to share best practice, build partnerships.
4. Clarify the statutory duty for local authorities to provide sufficient youth services, defining what ‘sufficient’ means, and ensure adequate funding for these requirements.
5. Develop a comprehensive Workforce and Training Strategy for the Youth Sector, to ensure a sustainable pipeline of skilled practitioners.
6. Ensure youth voices shape all policy development by introducing a statutory duty for Local Authority Youth Councils and maintaining a ‘feedback loop’ to keep young people informed.
7. Strengthen partnerships between youth services and schools, employers, mental health professionals, youth justice and outdoor education providers through statutory guidance.
8. Support schools and youth organisations to deliver outdoor education, aiming for every young person to have at least one such experience in primary and one in secondary school.

Applicability: England.

Mover: 5 minutes; all other speakers: 3 minutes. For eligibility and procedure for speaking in this debate, see pages 6-7 of the agenda. You can submit a speaker's card online here from Monday 15 September up to 09.00 Saturday 20 September or in person.

The deadline for amendments to this motion is 13.00 Monday 8 September; you can submit amendments online here, see pages 9–10 of the agenda for more information. Those selected for debate will be printed in Conference Extra and Saturday’s Conference Daily. The deadline for requests for separate votes is 09.00 Thursday 18 September; you can request separate votes here, see page 5 of the agenda for more information.