Government responsibility for youth policy

Responsibility for youth policy and strategy has been shifted from the Department for Education to the Cabinet Office and will be led by Nick Hurd from 3 July.

The Cabinet Office has advised that its new responsibilities will include strategic dialogue with young people and youth sector organisations on youth policy, and the statutory duty on local authorities for youth provision in their areas.

The government claims this latest shift for youth policy is putting young people at the heart of policy-making with the Cabinet Office already in charge of the National Citizen Service initiative for 16 and 17-year-olds. The government department is also in charge of promoting social action, and the move brings youth policy closer to civil society organisations in this area.

Along with the announcement the Cabinet Office released a progress report on its Positive for Youth campaign which was launched in December 2011, with collaboration across nine government departments, in a bid to increase opportunities for young people.

The report outlines the Cabinet Office’s work with the new independent organisation, the Campaign for Youth Social Action and the charity sector, schools and businesses on its plans to double to number of young people participating in social action by 2020. Funding is being provided from the Youth Social Action Fund to run pilots providing opportunities and supporting their take-up in Birmingham, Middlesbrough, Kent and Lancashire from October 2013.