Response from Stuart Andrew

Dear Hadyn,

Thank you for getting in touch on behalf of so many young people. We are equally keen to promote transparency and communication regarding the closure of the British Youth Council (BYC) and the future of its programmes.

DCMS was informed of the significant financial difficulties faced by BYC at the end of February 2024. The scale of these challenges unfortunately meant that DCMS could not provide emergency funding as this would not meet the key standards of Managing Public Money.

Over the past few weeks, we have been working with the BYC and are in consultation with UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of the BYCs closure and options for securing the delivery of the UKYP programme going forward. We are mindful that there are other aspects of the BYC’s work that also need to be considered, such as the Youth Select Committee and engagement with international fora. However as these discussions are still in early stages, it is difficult to share information publicly.

We are very conscious of the importance of consulting with young people affected in this period and plan to hold a meeting soon with yourself, as the representative of the signatories of the Open Letter, as well as the UKYP Steering Group.

I want to reassure the Members of the Youth Parliament (MYP), and other young people involved, that the Government is absolutely committed to the UK Youth Parliament and to ensuring that it continues to both represent and amplify the voices of young people.

Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP

Minister for Sport, Gambling and Civil Society