DCMS Youth Newsletter - November 2026
This edition includes updates on:
- the Youth Matters Fund;
- Every Child Can;
- the Youth Sector Development Partnership; and,
- upcoming Erasmus+ opportunities.
Young people are at the heart of our approach, with a focus on ensuring that funding reflects their priorities and that they are actively involved in shaping decisions about how it is spent.
Our new Youth-led Funding Toolkit supports this approach, providing guidance and practical tools to help local areas involve young people in funding decisions. As part of the toolkit, we are pleased to share the film ‘Young Voices, Real Power’.
We have announced the 60 areas in England for the £450 million Youth Matters Fund programme, targeting investment in areas where need is high and where young people feel there is little to do.
An initial investment of £20.7m this financial year will be going directly to the local authorities in those 60 areas to create immediate impact and expand provision. This funding will be used to deliver enriching activities and youth work which young people have said they want. We are starting work with those local authorities as we speak and we have published guidance here.
The main Youth Matters Fund will open to eligible youth sector organisations and local authorities in early 2027, providing significant capital and revenue funding to transform local youth provision in the 60 eligible areas. It will deliver enriching activities, youth work and opportunities that help young people develop skills and build connections, as well as investing in new builds, refurbishments, capital equipment and scheme development support. We expect over 2,000 youth facilities and projects to benefit, helping create, expand, improve or preserve youth provision in communities where it is most needed.
Young people will be at the heart of the Youth Matters Fund, with local authorities and organisations expected to involve them directly in decisions about youth services, local priorities and how funding is spent.
The applications process and grants for the main Youth Matters Fund will be managed by Social Investment Business, in partnership with the National Youth Agency, UK Youth, UK Community Foundations, Young People’s Foundation Trust, Sharpe Pritchard, and Turner & Townsend.
You can find more detail on the Youth Matters Fund programme here and questions can be addressed to [email protected].
We are ensuring that young people are in the driving seat through the design and delivery of Youth Matters. To support the launch of the Youth Matters Fund, we have co-designed a youth-led funding toolkit which sets out a set of key principles to ensure that local areas are involving young people in shaping, designing, and delivering their local youth offer. Local areas will be expected to show how they are meeting these principles in funding applications. The toolkit offers support from start to finish, including practical tools, advice on building strong youth engagement and accountability, and ways for local areas to share best practice. You can find the toolkit here.
Every Child Can / Dormant Assets
We are excited to announce that we are investing an additional £106 million of dormant assets funding into Every Child Can, building on the £132.5 million investment committed last year to bring the total to £238 million.
Through this funding, we will increase disadvantaged young people's access to activities and experiences across the enrichment categories as set out in DfE’s Enrichment Framework: civic engagement; arts and culture; nature, outdoor and adventure; sport and physical activity; and wider life and future skills.
£173 million of the total pot will be invested into the Every Child Can Fund to help hundreds of thousands of young people access enriching activities and safe, welcoming offline spaces where they can make friends, pursue their interests and discover new opportunities. It will be available to a wide range of organisations to deliver exciting things for young people to do across England from Spring 2027. Further details on eligibility, application criteria and the application process will be announced in due course.
We have also announced that the National Theatre has partnered with a network of theatres in all nine regions and with young people to develop a programme up to £15m that builds regional theatres’ capacity to deliver sustained impact for young people - ensuring young people everywhere have access to life-changing opportunities through the power of theatre. The project will be funded by Every Child Can subject to a successful solicitation process.
This announcement builds on the Every Child Can programmes already underway across England, including £12.5 million to put a library in every primary school by the end of this Parliament; £10 million to provide creative mentoring for care-experienced young people; and £12.5 million to deliver music enrichment opportunities in public libraries across England.
Every Child Can is delivered by The National Lottery Community Fund. If you have questions about the programme, please contact [email protected].
Youth Sector Development Partnership
During Youth Work Week, we announced the new Youth Sector Development Partnership, a £17.8m programme, jointly funded between The National Lottery Community Fund and DCMS, to invest in training, networks and resources that makes great youth work possible.
Co-ordinated by UK Youth, alongside the National Youth Agency, Young People Foundations Trust, TRIUMPH, and regional partners across England, the programme will be locally led and nationally connected.
In each of the nine regions in England, a group of local organisations will receive three-year grants to plan support around what their communities need - bringing together the organisations that already hold the sector together, such as Regional Youth Work Units, County Youth Work Associations, Young People’s Foundations, and others providing critical youth sector infrastructure.
You can find more information on the Youth Sector Development Partnership here, including FAQs, details of upcoming in-person regional information events and how you can apply to join or lead one of the nine Regional Partnerships. You can also sign up for regular updates here.
Later in November, education and training providers, youth organisations and sports bodies will be able to submit proposals for funding to deliver exciting projects that align with Erasmus+ priorities and objectives. Erasmus+ has received £400 million of funding, with over £30 million for a range of youth projects and dedicated funding for inclusion to remove the barriers that can prevent individuals with fewer opportunities from accessing life‑changing experiences abroad.
While Erasmus+ is often associated with university exchanges, the programme offers much broader opportunities. It supports young people, learners, youth workers, volunteers and grassroot organisations to take part in international activities that promote learning, inclusion and cultural understanding. This includes youth exchanges, youth participation projects, sport training, professional opportunities and international partnerships. You can find out more about the programme and its different strands here.
DCMS and the British Council are hosting a webinar on the 1st of December from 10:00 to 11:00 where we will share information about the opportunities available and provide advice on how to build a strong application. If you, or people in your networks, are interested in attending the webinar, you can register here.
An Erasmus+ youth consultation survey is also live. In collaboration with InterCom and Catalyst in Communities, the British Council is carrying out a national consultation of young people aged 13-30 that aims to find out how much young people know about international opportunities, understand why they might not participate and explore how we can make the programme more accessible, inclusive and youth-led. Here is the survey (and here in Welsh) - we’d be really grateful if you could share it widely with the young people you engage with, particularly those who have never taken part in an international exchange before.
