Your National Youth Strategy – GOV.UK

What is it?

The government’s first national youth strategy in 20+ years. Co-produced with 14,000 young people, it aims to respond young people’s issues over the next 10 years. It sets out a shared vision that every young person, regardless of background, should have a safe place to go, someone who cares about them, and opportunities to thrive in education, work and community life.

How does the government intend to tackle young people’s isolation, safety concerns, wellbeing challenges and barriers to opportunity? Through investment in youth services, trusted adults, enriching activities, safe spaces, skills and careers support, and by empowering young people to shape decisions that affect their lives.

Our response

This is what Youth Concern’s been doing since 1979! Youth services, trusted adults, activities, safe spaces, skills and careers support and youth voice. We see every day how transformative good youth services, trusted adults, activities, safe spaces, skills and careers support and giving young people a voice can be.

So we thank the government for recognising the value of youth work and committing £500m of funding to rebuild and transform youth services.

But this strategy also highlights a postcode lottery. Communities like ours in Aylesbury Vale — outside major cities but facing real and rising need — are often overlooked because we don’t fall within a “priority” designation.

Every young person deserves a safe space — not just those in ‘priority’ postcodes.

The challenges young people face don’t stop at city boundaries. Anxiety, isolation, lack of affordable activities, and limited access to support exist in towns and rural areas too. Our young people deserve to be seen — and supported — just as much as those in larger urban centres.

We’re proud of the work we do, and we’ll continue to champion the needs of 13-25 year olds across Aylesbury Vale. We wait to see how the £500m is allocated after the initial priority postcodes and hope future funding rounds will ensure all young people, wherever they live, can access the safe spaces and opportunities they deserve.

A National Plan to End Homelessness

What is it?
The government’s long-term ambition to prevent and ultimately end homelessness across England. The plan focuses on early intervention, better coordination between services, increased access to safe and stable housing, and tailored support for people at risk, including young people, care leavers, and those facing complex challenges. It emphasises prevention, data-led approaches, and partnership working between national government, local authorities and the voluntary sector.

Our response
At Youth Concern, we welcome the renewed focus on prevention and early support, particularly the recognition that homelessness often begins in young people’s teenage years.

(Did you know that 50% of adults in the 2025 Rough Sleeping Questionnaire who had slept rough within the previous year first experienced homelessness by the age of 25?)

For the strategy to succeed for young people, it must be backed by sustained funding, youth-specific pathways and strong local delivery that includes specialist youth charities like Youth Concern.

We will continue to advocate for trauma-informed, accessible services, more suitable housing options for under 25s (like our Next Step Project), and a system that listens to young people’s voices, so that no young person is left without a safe place to live or the support they need.

VAWG Strategy 2025-2030 | The Crown Prosecution Service

What is it?
A cross-government plan to tackle the wide range of crimes and harmful behaviours that disproportionately affect women and girls, including domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking and harassment. Its ambition is to prevent violence before it happens, improve support for victims and survivors, strengthen the justice response and pursue perpetrators. With greater emphasis on early education and multi-agency working, the strategy reflects a long-standing commitment to reducing VAWG and building safer communities.

Our response

At Youth Concern we strongly support efforts to end violence against women and girls and welcome the strategy’s focus on prevention, survivor-centred support and accountability.

Once again, we’re pleased the strategy highlights the vital role of youth services in providing safe spaces, early intervention and trauma-informed support – which once again will require sustained funding.

In January 2026 we will once again run our ‘Living My Best Life’ course which addresses VAWG. Our new 3 year strategy includes a plan to introduce a men’s group.

In summary

Taken together, these three strategies send a strong message: young people need early support, safe spaces, trusted relationships and services that are rooted in their local communities.

This is both a welcome recognition of the impact of youth work and a reminder that national ambition must be matched by fair, long-term investment at a local level. We stand ready to work with partners and decision-makers to ensure these strategies deliver real change for young people in Aylesbury Vale — because where you live should never determine whether you feel seen, safe, or supported to live with confidence, purpose and possibility.