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The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves set out the Government’s spending plans for the next three years in today’s Spending Review.

The Review highlighted the recently announced Dormant Assets Funding, and how it marks the Government’s commitment to a “significant programme of capital investment to build new youthcentres, and improve and equip existing facilities, as well as funding for activities that young people want to take part in.”

The Review covers two categories of spending:

Day-to-day spending, which includes salaries, supplies and other administration costs. This is known as “resource” spending
Capital spending,which includes funding for infrastructure as well as building things like new schools, hospitals and roads.

This Spending Review is one of the tightest in recent years, outside of the austerity period of the early 2010s. The Government’s fiscal constraints are forcing the Government to prioritise where to spend; day-to-day spending is only due to rise by about 1.2 per cent a year on average, and capital spending by 1.3 per cent a year.

Government departments will use the funding settlements agreed at this Review to form their own internal spending plans. The Government’s five missions have been the core focus of this Spending Review. The economic and social benefits of youth work align directly with the Government’s five missions. UK Youth research has highlighted that, for every £1 invested in youth work, there is a return of between £3.20 and £6.40 in public sector savings in areas such as health, education, employment and reduced crime.

What does this mean for youth work and young people?

The Chancellor committed to spending £1.2bn a year by the end of the Spending Review period to support young people into training. The Government is also planning a further strategy on post-16 education and skills later this year. It is important that youth work’s unique role, as a bridge between employers, education, training providers and young people is recognised and valued in this strategy.

The planned investment in youth services as part of the Dormant Assets Funding announcement to support facilities and activities for young people represents a significant and timely vote of confidence in the power of youth work. Although this will not fill huge gaps left by a decade of cuts, it is a welcome and much-needed step in the right direction.

What has UK Youth been doing to unlock funding from Government?

UK Youth submitted a response to the Government’s Spending Review consultation back in February. The submission highlighted the economic and social benefits of investing in youth work as a preventative solution and set out a number of key recommendations to the Treasury.

In May, following the Government’s announcement of a youth services funding package for 2025/26, UK Youth highlighted that this equates to lower spending on youth work than under the Conservative’s, as reported by The Guardian.

How does the Spending Review relate to the National Youth Strategy?

UK Youth is proud to be working with the Government, through the #iwill Movement and as part of a wider consortium, to ensure young people’s voices shape the National Youth Strategy. Some 15,000 young people across England have engaged in this consultation through the ‘Deliver You’ campaign, setting out their priorities to the Government. This presents a vital opportunity to turn the tide on 15 years of devastating cuts to youth services and commit to the long-term investment needed to build better opportunities for young people.

The Spending Review document highlights the key role the National Youth Strategy will play in supporting young people. If the Government is serious about breaking down barriers to opportunity for young people, it must invest in the youth workers and services that make that possible, with buy-in from across departments.

Laura Cunliffe-Hall, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at UK Youth said: “UK Youth welcomes the commitment from Government to delivering new youth clubs and supporting existing youth services within this Spending Review. We cannot afford not to invest in future generations through youth work. It is an essential preventative intervention and it is clear that the Government has listened to the sector and recognises the critical role that youth services play in supporting our young people.

Moving forwards, we need to see this commitment reflected through long-term sustainable funding for the National Youth Strategy to support both young people and the youth sector, with clear metrics for successful delivery. We also await further detail on exactly how Dormant Assets Fund money will be spent on youth development and youth work.

We look forward to working with Government and the wider sector to ensure this investment reaches the youth workers and organisations that need it most to ensure every young person has an equal opportunity to thrive.”