To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on youth work provision of its budget decisions, in light of the most recent YouthLink Scotland survey indicating that the Majority of young people accessing youth work do so through the voluntary sector. (S6O-05057)

As Parliament knows from contributions that I have made previously, I highly value youth work, and I am looking at ways to provide further support. At present, the Scottish Government funds youth work provision in a variety of ways, most prominently through local authority block grants, which give councils significant autonomy to provide youth work in their area.

I am aware that the Minister genuinely values youth work. When I launched my proposed youth work (Scotland) bill at the Citadel Youth Centre in Leith, I saw first hand how transformative voluntary provision can be and, indeed, how the minister takes interest in that place. However, YouthLink’s latest survey shows that the Majority of young people who access youth work do so through voluntary organisations, and that many such organisations are struggling to meet rising demands. What are the minister’s specific plans to strengthen voluntary and statutory provision so that no young person misses out?

I am looking forward to engaging with the youth work sector in my role and will be doing so in the weeks ahead. The member speaks about youth work in terms of preventative spending and its power to help young people to realise their potential, which allows them to contribute more to society and the economy. I believe in that deeply, and I see it in my local Constituency through organisations such as the Citadel Youth Centre. I have forgiven the member for not inviting me to the launch of his bill in my constituency in Leith.

Although I not dismissing the considerations around the need for primary legislation, most important, we must consider the current needs in communities, which I am engaged with. We have provided a lot of additional resource—more than £1.1 billion in 2025-26, which is a real-terms increase of 5.5 per cent—to local authorities. Without disrespecting the Verity house agreement, we need to consider whether local authorities are investing enough in youth work and what other ways we can provide additional youth work support where there is need and demand, given the current circumstances.

I can squeeze in a very brief supplementary question.

Is there anything else that the Minister can say about the role of local authorities in allocating resources for youth work?

I recognise that local authorities have significant resource and a responsibility to invest in youth work. We are investing through other avenues where we can, including through Youth Scotland and YouthLink Scotland. We have invested £2 million since 2023 through community-based national youth work organisations. I will continue to consider how central Government, working with local government, while respecting the Verity house agreement, can support the important contribution that youth work makes to our communities.

That concludes portfolio questions. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business to allow front bench teams to change position.