What is the National Youth Strategy?
Youth Matters is the government’s ten-year plan for young people, the first national youth strategy in more than two decades. Its stated aim is that every young person has somewhere to go, someone who cares, and a community they feel part of. It is a cross-government plan led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, backed by more than £500 million of new funding over the next three years.
The strategy is explicit about what was lost over the previous decade: youth clubs closed, thousands of youth worker roles gone. Rebuilding starts with places and people: physical youth spaces, and the trusted adults who run them.
Where is the money going?
- Better Youth Spaces, £350m over four years. Building or refurbishing up to 250 youth facilities in the areas that need them most, with equipment support reaching around 2,500 youth organisations. This is the headline capital fund, and capital is exactly what transforms a community building.
- Young Futures Hubs, £70m. A network of 50 local hubs by March 2029 bringing youth support services together. The first eight are open in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, County Durham, Nottingham, Bristol, Tower Hamlets and Brighton & Hove.
- Richer Young Lives Fund, over £60m. High-quality activities and youth work in underserved areas.
- Plus: £22.5m for support around the school day in up to 400 schools, £15m to recruit and train youth workers and volunteers, and £5m to strengthen local youth partnerships.
What does it mean for your organisation?
If you run a community centre, sports club or youth provision in a deprived area, this strategy is aimed at places like yours. The pattern across every fund is the same: money follows organisations that can show need, a credible plan, and a route to sustained delivery. Not just a building that needs fixing, but a youth offer that lasts beyond the grant.
That’s also where this connects to the wider funding landscape. Many of the same neighbourhoods hold Pride in Place funding (up to £20m over ten years, decided locally), and a youth facility project that stacks Better Youth Spaces capital with local Pride in Place backing and a self-sustaining operating model is the strongest version of the story. Read our Pride in Place briefing alongside this one.
When do the funding windows open?
DCMS is developing the detailed programmes now, with sector roadshows underway and application routes expected to emerge through 2026. The organisations that win early funding will be the ones ready when windows open: evidence of need gathered, community engagement done, costs estimated, and a sustainability model that answers the question every funder asks. What happens when the grant runs out?