Blackpool MP welcomes £250k from Government’s Youth Matters Fund to boost childhood experience in the resort

Young people in Blackpool are set to get their say on how more than £250,000 ring-fenced to boost childhood experience will be spent in the resort.

Blackpool will receive £256,894 to be spent in 2026/27 as part of the government’s new £450 million Youth Matters Fund.

Blackpool South MP Chris Webb welcomed the much needed investment in Blackpool’s young people and said he looked forward to helping those growing up here to “have more places to go”.

Organisations working with young people in the town will also be eligible to apply separately for the wider fund when a bidding round opens, expected in early 2027.

The fund backs the government’s Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy, a 10-year plan published in December 2025 that aims to radically change what it feels like to grow up in England.

It is the first national youth strategy in England in over two decades and was shaped by more than 14,000 young people. They told government they wanted more places to go, more things to do and more trusted adults to turn to.

Driven by those priorities, the fund will pay for enriching activities and youth work. It will also pay for new builds, refurbishments, capital equipment and scheme development support, so that organisations can improve or expand what they offer young people.

Blackpool is among the areas chosen because of high levels of deprivation, a high proportion of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), and local young people telling government there is not enough for them to do.

The funding will be targeted at areas where young people feel there is little to do, and young people will have a say in how it is spent.

Around £20million is being distributed through 60 local authorities in the coming months, so young people see a difference quickly. A delivery partner is being appointed for the wider fund, and a bidding round is expected to open in early 2027. Eligible youth organisations and local authorities will be able to apply.

The announcement also includes a further £106million of dormant assets funding for the Every Child Can programme, bringing its total investment to £238.5 million and delivering more opportunities for children and young people in every part of the country.

The government has already started delivering with £12.5 million to help ensure every primary school has a library by the end of this Parliament; £10 million to provide creative mentoring for care-experienced young people; and £12.5 million to bring music enrichment opportunities into public libraries across England.

The National Theatre will also work with theatres in all nine regions and with young people to build regional theatres’ capacity to deliver lasting impact for young people.

Together, these programmes will help ensure that every child and young person, wherever they grow up, has access to the opportunities, experiences and support they need to build confidence, develop skills and fulfil their potential.

Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South, said: “Securing more investment and opportunities for Blackpool’s young people has been a priority for me since I was elected. I’m proud to have helped secure this additional £256,894, building on the £500,000 I recently secured for our new Young Futures Hub.

“In a town that offers so much to visitors, I want young people growing up here to have more places to go, more things to do and the support to fulfil their potential. This funding gives us the opportunity to make that happen.

“I’m constantly impressed by the talent and ambition of our young people. I recently met Creative Fusion, the country’s first youth-led Local Cultural Education Partnership, whose young creatives are designing and delivering projects for their peers. Alongside brilliant organisations like House of Wingz, the Grand Theatre and Boathouse Youth, they show why this investment matters.

“My priority now is to turn the funding we’ve secured into lasting opportunities for Blackpool’s young people. I’ll bring the council, local youth organisations and young people together to shape how it is spent, build on the youth work we’ve already supported and develop strong bids that put Blackpool in pole position to secure more from the £450 million Youth Matters Fund.

“As our MP, I’ll keep fighting for the investment our young people deserve to build a better future and a better Blackpool.”