The Local Youth Transformation Pilot
Information about the Local Youth Transformation Pilot (LYTP) including its aims, delivery model and participating local authorities.
Applies to England
Programme aims
The Local Youth Transformation Pilot is investing £8 million over 2025/26 to support 12 ‘Pathfinder’ local authorities to start to rebuild a high-quality offer for young people and transition back to local youth services leadership. The pilot will test ways to rebuild local authority capability to ensure a local youth offer which addresses the needs of young people and supports government priorities.
The objectives of the Local Youth Transformation Pilot are to:
- improve capability in 12 local authorities to improve their local youth offer
- build DCMS’ and wider government understanding of the challenges and opportunities local authorities face, and how local authorities can best be supported to build capability to effectively meet their statutory duty and deliver effective services for young people
- ensure longer term sustainability in participating local authorities to deliver their youth services statutory duty
Delivery and evaluation partners
The National Youth Agency (NYA), with UK Youth, Regional Youth Work Units, YPF Trust, Centre for Young Lives, Streetgames and Local Government Association, is working as a delivery partner for the pilot. Through tailored advice, tools, resources and consultation, they are supporting Pathfinder local authorities to assess current youth provision in the community, understand the needs of young people in their areas, and develop a plan to improve provision for young people.
The pilot will be independently evaluated by RSM UK Consulting LLP. The evaluation will support our understanding of the pilot by assessing how the pilot was implemented, how taking part affected local authority youth offers and capability to meet the youth services statutory duty, and how the role of local context influenced delivery and outcomes.
Delivery model
We recognise that local authorities are best placed to understand their own needs, which is why this pilot is focussed on working with and supporting Pathfinder local authorities in a way that works for them.
There are 4 core phases of the Local Youth Transformation Pilot all Pathfinder local authorities will undertake.
Phase 1- Developing understanding
To establish the areas of improvement that each Pathfinder local authority will address during the pilot, it is vital that local authorities, NYA and DCMS understand the current level of provision and services.
In the first phase of the pilot, NYA will work with each local authority and, where applicable, their local partners, to carry out an assessment of existing youth provision and needs. This involves mapping provision, carrying out interviews with stakeholders and young people, and analysing data. The review includes services delivered by local authorities as well as those provided by third sector organisations and employers.
Phase 2- Developing an action plan
Using this insight, local authorities will, with support from NYA, develop an action plan to deliver within the pilot timeframe that reflects local authority strategic priorities and direction. The action plan will prioritise specific areas of need from the assessment of provision and set out how the local authority intends to improve against these areas.
NYA will, where required, support local authorities to understand and plan how to engage with young people to ensure their voices are heard in the development of the action plan.
Action plans will differ between local authorities based on the unique context of each local authority and the needs identified during the assessment of provision. The list below is by no means exhaustive, however we anticipate action plans will focus on improving capability in areas such as:
- promoting, sustaining and effectively deploying the youth workforce (qualifications, skillset, capacity, progression, retention)
- building expertise in high quality youth services within the local authority (training, partnerships with other sectors, information and best practice sharing)
- developing leadership around youth services within the local authority (training, capacity, organisation, structure, progression)
- improving youth engagement and collaboration (youth voice, partnerships with other organisations/sectors)
- improved partnership working and support to the voluntary sector
- publication and communication of provision (as required by the Statutory Duty)
Action plans will be shared with and reviewed by DCMS, who will assure the plans and approve grant funding for implementation.
Phase 3- Implementation of action plans
NYA will provide a tailored package of advice and support for local authorities and their partners (where applicable) to implement their plans, including producing practical tools and guidance and providing ongoing support and consultation.
Phase 4- Review of action plans
At the end of the pilot, NYA will work with each local authority to carry out a follow-up review of the action plan and the progress made during implementation. This will be an opportunity to reflect on positive changes as a result of participating in the pilot, consider the impact of activities undertaken through the action plan, and identify further opportunities to build on successes achieved.
Using these insights, NYA will support local authorities to develop longer term action plans to ensure the sustainability of the outcomes achieved during the lifetime of the pilot.
Participating local authorities
The effective delivery of the Local Youth Transformation Pilot requires careful selection of Pathfinder local authorities to ensure robust learnings which could facilitate any future wider roll-out.
To reflect the small size of the pilot, limited data on existing youth provision, and to reduce administrative burden on local authorities, an Expression of Interest (EOI) process was chosen to select the local authorities.
43 local authorities with the highest levels of young people living in families facing income deprivation (as measured by Income Deprivation Affection Children Index (IDACI)), by region, were invited to submit an EOI.
IDACI was chosen based on its links to the objectives of the fund, and transparency and quality of the data available. IDACI brings together 7 factors which can influence levels of deprivation for children including:
- income
- employment
- education
- health
- crime
- barriers to housing and services
- living environment
Research by the Social Mobility Commission found a direct link between household income and young people’s participation for almost all extra-curricular activities. Children from the poorest households were much less likely to take part in any extra-curricular activity, but particularly music and sport. The DCMS Youth Participation Survey found that participation rates in clubs and activities were lower for young people in the most deprived IDACI quintile (56%) compared to those in the highest IDACI quintile (76%). This fund targets areas with higher proportions of young people that are less likely to participate in enriching activities, to build high-quality youth offers.
EOIs were reviewed by DCMS to understand why local authorities wanted to participate and the benefits that taking part would have for the local authority and youth provision.
12 Pathfinder local authorities were selected to participate in the pilot, representing a range of geographies, contexts and youth service operating models.
Pathfinder local authorities are listed in the table below.
| Region | Local authority |
|---|---|
| East Midlands | Derbyshire |
| East of England | Peterborough |
| London | Islington |
| London | Southwark |
| North East | Hartlepool |
| North West | Knowsley |
| North West | Liverpool |
| South East | Oxfordshire |
| South West | Cornwall |
| West Midlands | Shropshire |
| West Midlands | Stoke-on-Trent |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | Doncaster |
Local authorities who were not selected for the pilot will not be excluded from participating in any future phases of the programme. Learning from the pilot will be shared with the sector more widely, and we anticipate that the pilot will have benefits beyond the selected Pathfinder local authorities.
Local authority funding
Funding allocations for Pathfinder local authorities will be based on their action plans and local needs assessments, currently being undertaken. Confirmed funding allocations will be shared in due course.
Next steps
The pilot will be delivered across 2025 to 2026, with all activity ending by 31 March 2026.
An interim evaluation report will be developed in December 2025, and the final evaluation report will be published in July 2026.