Youth Matters - What's this mean for Wirral?

What Youth Matters means for local youth services and the voluntary sector

Youth Matters is the first national youth strategy in England in more than 20 years. The strategy is built around three radical shifts:

• From national to local — decisions and delivery are meant to be made as close as possible to communities; funding will flow more strategically to local areas. GOV.UK - From National to Local

• From fragmented to collaborative — greater coordination across government departments, statutory services, civil society, and non-statutory organisations; stronger relationships between government and the voluntary / civil-society sector. GOV.UK - Fragmented to Collaborative

• From excluded to empowered — giving young people themselves more voice, agency, and power in shaping what youth services look like locally and nationally. GOV.UK - Excluded to Empowered

  
  

The “vision” is that every young person — regardless of background — should have access to safe places, caring adults, opportunities for enrichment, support for wellbeing, and a chance to shape their community and future. The government reports that:

youth services have suffered substantially: between 2010 and 2023, local spending on youth services fell 73%, more than 1,000 youth centres closed, and over 4,500 youth-worker roles were lost.

Youth Matters is supported by ambitious investment commitments over the coming years, including boosting youth-worker capacity, building and upgrading youth facilities, funding enrichment activities, strengthening mental-health and wellbeing support, improving access to jobs and training (for 16–24s), among other actions

What Youth Matters Means for Voluntary-Sector Youth Work (Generally England)

Because Youth Matters explicitly emphasises rebuilding a “thriving and sustainable sector,” local delivery, collaboration, volunteering, and youth-led design, it presents a set of structural and operational changes that voluntary providers should pay attention to:

• Recognition and investment in workforce (paid & volunteer): The strategy includes a £15 million fund over 3 years aimed at up-skilling and supporting youth workers, volunteers, trusted adults — including training, safeguarding, digital-wellbeing, and potentially apprenticeships. GOV.UK - Strengthening the Workforce

• Increased funding for facilities and community spaces: With the “Better Youth Spaces” programme and funding for new or upgraded youth facilities, voluntary-sector providers may be able to access resources to improve or expand physical spaces for youth work. GOV.UK - Providing more places to go to

• More inclusive and local decision-making: The shift “from national to local” and the formation of the so-called Civil Society Covenant suggests voluntary groups may have more influence over how funds and services are shaped locally. GOV.UK - Civil Society Covenant

• Focus on partnerships and collaboration: Because the strategy stresses collaborative delivery — across youth organisations, government, and community stakeholders — local voluntary providers are likely to be encouraged (or required) to work in networks, partnerships, or alliances, rather than in isolation. GOV.UK - Fragment to Collaborative

• Support for youth voice and co-production: The emphasis on young people being “at the driving seat” for local services creates space for voluntary organisations to centre youth participation, giving them greater legitimacy and relevance. GOV.UK - Excluded to Empowered

• Potential access to enrichment & wellbeing funding: With new funds for enrichment activities, sports, holiday programmes, and mental-health/ wellbeing support integrated into youth services, voluntary providers delivering such programmes are well-positioned to tap resources. GOV.UK - Richer Lives

  
  

In short: Youth Matters aims to re-energise the voluntary youth sector, provide new funding and infrastructure opportunities, and elevate youth work as a valued and central part of social policy.

Context: Voluntary Youth Work in Wirral

Wirral Youth Alliance and emerging work with Faith Sector Providers are perfectly placed to anchor this in Wirral.

• Wirral Youth Alliance (WYA) is a partnership that brings together youth organisations, activity providers, statutory services and businesses, aiming to build a “strong, sustainable, and inclusive youth offer” across Wirral.

Wirral Youth Alliance

• The Alliance acts as a conduit for collaboration, resource sharing, training, and coordinated youth provision across different local organisations, offering outreach, mentoring, targeted support services, youth centres, etc.

• According to a 2023 review of youth provision in Wirral, the voluntary, community and faith sector already plays a “valuable contribution to the Youth Offer,” working alongside statutory services to deliver both universal and targeted provision (clubs, counselling, outreach, creative youth development, detached youth work, etc.). Report: Overview Of Youth Work Wirral

Opportunities for Wirral Voluntary-Sector Youth Providers under Youth Matters

1. New funding and infrastructure for youth facilities

   • With the strategy’s “Better Youth Spaces” and “Richer Young Lives Fund,” there is a clearer route for upgrading or refurbishing existing youth spaces

   • Holiday-activity funding and enrichment funds may enable voluntary organisations to expand outreach, holiday programmes, arts, sports, and participatory activities for young people though these are often short term and have specific targeted audiences.

2. Strengthened workforce — paid & volunteer

   • The investment in upskilling, training, safeguarding and youth-work qualifications could improve the quality and capacity of youth-work staff and volunteers in Wirral.

   • Local organisations could leverage apprenticeships or training bursaries — especially beneficial if they have limited resources to invest in training historically.

3. Stronger local autonomy & collaboration

   • The shift to place-based decision-making may give Wirral organisations more say in how youth services are shaped locally. This could lead to more responsive services tuned to Wirral’s unique social and economic context.

   • Existing collaborative structures (e.g., Wirral Youth Alliance / Youth Collective) could benefit from a policy environment that explicitly supports partnerships between statutory, voluntary and civic actors.

   • There are direct links that could (& arguably should) be made between this work and the evolving / emergent Neighbourhoods and Pride in Place programmes

4. Youth-led provision and co-production

   • With the emphasis on young people having agency, voluntary providers can engage youth as co-designers, strengthening the relevance and impact of local youth services and improving community buy-in.

   • Young People should also be actively engaged in wider local Social and Economic development policies

   • Voluntary providers that embed youth voice may gain priority or preferential access to funding under Youth Matters.

5. Access to wellbeing, mental-health, and safeguarding resources

   • As the strategy invests in integrating mental-health support, wellbeing services, and safeguarding training, voluntary providers who deliver or partner in such services may tap new funding and support structures.

6. Possibility to address local youth-specific needs

   • Given that prior local reviews (e.g., Wirral’s “Youth Offer Review”) identified key risks — exploitation, mental health, substance misuse (Ket abuse being a high PH and Youth Justice issue), anti-social behaviour, sexual health, inequalities in opportunity — voluntary providers have a chance to scale up targeted prevention and support work under Youth Matters backing. Report: Overview Of Youth Work Wirral

Threats / Challenges / Risks for Voluntary-Sector Youth Providers in Wirral

1. Uncertainty in funding distribution and competition

   • While Youth Matters promises investment, how funds will be allocated — between statutory bodies, voluntary sector, and across different localities — may be contested. There’s a risk voluntary organisations are out-competed by better-resourced statutory providers or new entrants. 

   • The success of “place-based” funding depends heavily on local authorities and how they commission or distribute funds. If local governance is weak or underfunded, Wirral providers may struggle to secure adequate resources.

2. Administrative and compliance burden

   • With new requirements: safeguarding, training, qualifications, quality standards — voluntary organisations may need to expand their administrative capacity. Smaller groups may struggle with bureaucracy, monitoring, reporting, or sustaining compliance.

   • Volunteer recruitment and retention remains a chronic challenge in youth work. Even with additional funding/training, recruiting and sustaining skilled volunteers (or paid youth staff) may remain difficult — especially in communities facing socio-economic challenges.

3. Risk of losing local identity or autonomy in large-scale, national-driven programmes

   • The strategy could end up national and top-down in ambition, which would increase the danger that local providers may end up delivering “templates” rather than contextually grounded programmes — undermining local relevance (e.g., Wirral’s particular demographics, needs, existing structures).

   • If statutory services dominate “Young Futures Hubs” or other funded structures, voluntary providers may become subcontractors or lose control over design and delivery of youth services rather than equal partners and collaborators – though it is worth remembering Wirral’s recent history of really good partnership and respect for the sector

4. Sustainability concerns — timescale vs long-term need

   • The strategy frames many commitments over the next 3–5 years, but long-term sustainability depends on continued funding and political will. Cuts or shifts in priorities could jeopardise progress, leaving voluntary organisations again exposed.

   • Organisations that expand quickly in response to initial funding may struggle to sustain services once initial grants or funds run out — leading to instability, staff burnout, or closure, especially given past history (e.g., many closures in prior decade).

5. Potential inequalities in access within Wirral

   • While the strategy emphasises reducing participation gaps, voluntary sector providers may find it challenging to reach the most marginalised youth — e.g., those facing multiple disadvantages, high mobility, or who are disengaged — unless targeted outreach is properly funded and resourced.

6. Coordination / fragmentation risk if collaboration fails

   • The promise of collaborative, joined-up delivery depends on different organisations — statutory, voluntary, community, health, education — working well together. If coordination fails, services may remain fragmented, duplicated, or inefficient.

What It Could Look Like in Wirral — A Forward-Looking Take

Given the structure in Wirral (e.g., Wirral Youth Alliance, The Hive, Wirral Youth Collective, etc.), local voluntary-sector youth providers are well-placed to take advantage of Youth Matters — if they move strategically. For example:

• The WYA could position itself as a “hub” for coordinating funding applications under the “Better Youth Spaces” and “Richer Young Lives” funding streams.

• Smaller grassroots youth organisations could leverage new training/funding for volunteers to scale up outreach, detached youth work, mentoring, or holiday-activity programmes.

• By involving young people in co-design and meaningful decision-making, local providers can strengthen legitimacy and demonstrate alignment with Youth Matters’ youth-led ethos — potentially giving them priority in fund allocation.

• Collaboration between statutory services (e.g., local authority children’s services, youth justice, health) and voluntary sector could be deepened — especially on mental health, safeguarding, anti-social behaviour, and youth justice prevention, building on existing local plans (e.g., youth justice strategies).

But — to avoid risks — local providers will need to: ensure capacity to meet compliance standards; build robust governance, admin and funding strategies; coordinate with each other and with statutory partners; and guard against becoming minor subcontractors to larger organisations.

Conclusion — Why Voluntary Youth Work in Wirral Should Lean In (But with Eyes Open)

Youth Matters represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for youth work: significant new investment, a re-imagining of youth services, and a national commitment to rebuilding the sector from the bottom up.  For voluntary-sector youth providers — especially in places like Wirral where there is existing infrastructure and commitment — this could be transformative: more resources, improved facilities, stronger workforce, deeper collaboration, and greater youth participation.

However — the window of opportunity comes with caveats. Success will depend heavily on how funding is distributed, how local authorities engage, how voluntary organisations adapt to compliance and standards, and whether collaborations are genuine and sustained.

Wirral CVS’ messaging has been  “now is a time to get organised — consider forming consortia, map ping local needs, building proposals for funding (spaces, enrichment, mental health), and invest in capacity (staff/volunteers/admin) — but also prepare for long-term sustainability, not just short-term grants.