Back Youth Alliance Statement on Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport announcement

“Every young person should have access to safe spaces, trusted adults and enriching activities in their communities. We welcome the Government commitment to developing a new national youth strategy built on the views, ideas and experiences of young people from every corner of this country.

We welcome the strategic ambition from the Secretary of State but we urge her to address the immediate impact on current provision which is enabled by NCS, to provide the youth sector with clarity, support and funding going forward.

The closure of the National Citizens Service (NCS) in April 2025 is a sad day for the sector. Our thoughts go out to our colleagues at NCS and the thousands of youth workers up and down the country who have delivered more than a million experiences with young people under the NCS programme. This will be a deeply unsettling time for them.

We must ensure that this funding and learning is retained by the youth sector to make sure we deliver the Government’s mission of breaking down barriers to opportunity. Many projects relied on NCS funding, and the Secretary of State must now ensure we deliver for those organisations and those young people so they can continue to thrive each day, without a break in service.

Back Youth Alliance