DCMS x PP – Youth Transformation Task & Finish Group

‘Nothing about us, without us.’ Youth voice revolves around this core principle. As such, many organisations invite young people to share their experiences, views and ideas on support, opportunities and services for young people across England. This blog is about one such project that I am honoured to be part of!

After a successful application back in May 2026, I was selected to take part in a ‘Youth Transformation Task & Finish Group’ for young people across England aged 14-20 (and up to 25 with SEND) – a project funded by the UK government and facilitated by Participation People (PP), in partnership with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The purpose of this Task & Finish group is to help with policy design and programme development for the Local Youth Transformation and Young Futures Hubs programmes, which are funded by the UK Government and led by DCMS. 

Between May and November 2026, our group will take part in a series of highly detailed and interactive workshops, both in-person and online, to influence real government decisions and approaches to youth support. The Young Futures Hubs have three key areas of focus: 

• Increasing opportunities outside of education for young people (e.g. pertaining to employment)
• Reducing the risk and number of young people being drawn into crime
• Improving mental health and wellbeing (poor mental health is a main driver of youth unemployment and young people’s withdrawal from key institutions and systems)

Nottingham was chosen as one of eight ‘early-adopter’ areas to develop a Young Futures Hub (YFH). The premise is to use pre-existing youth and community spaces to create a YFH but local authorities and councils have the option to start from scratch if they wish. Nottingham’s YFH is based at the Beaumont Community Centre in Sneinton. The idea is for Young Futures Hubs to offer career & employability guidance, mental health support, skills development, arts & sports workshops – drawing on local partners to deliver some of these services and activities. Whilst funding is in place until March 2029 for these hubs, hopefully this will be extended so young people can continue to access third spaces and vital support! 

Thus far in sessions, our group has explored and advised on what Young Futures Hubs should look and be like (e.g. physical facilities & interior visuals, staff & workforce, opening times, services & activities available for young people), as well as advising on how referral pathways for young people should work, and what specific role parents, guardians and carers should have in Young Futures Hubs – i.e. how much or how little can families be involved, whilst still centring the young person’s needs and development. 

Recently over 10th and 11th August, our group convened in London for a 2-day in-person bootcamp. We all met face-to-face for the first time! Over both days, we engaged in numerous workshops – all of our sessions were held inside the government department building for DCMS (located in Westminster, diagonally opposite to the Houses of Parliament) where we worked directly with civil servants on all things Young Futures Hubs related. For some examples, our sessions focused on: 

• Feedback loop – we learned via a report and presentations from DCMS how our views and ideas are being directly quoted and used to shape YFH guidance (this is a very valuable component as it provides closure & gives our youth voice tangible weight)
• Co-creation – we completed activities on what constitutes good and bad ‘co-creation’ (previously termed ‘co-design’ in UK govt and civil service spaces), as well as outlining core principles for future co-creation 
• Youth Matters: National Youth Strategy – civil servants presented how Young Futures Hubs deliver on the National Youth Strategy and the ‘State of the Nation’ report, as well as how youth consultations with key partners like the #iWill movement are shaping Local Youth Transformation programmes 
• Outcome frameworks – we completed workshops advising DCMS on how they can measure outcomes of Young Futures Hubs, e.g. how to measure ‘improved confidence’, ‘improved social connection’, motivation etc… in young people – we had to construct and collate our ideas in pairs, completing mini presentations back to the rest of the group on indicators of improvement, methods of surveying, and what questions to ask young people 

This opportunity has been in perfect alignment with my career goals as I want to work in policy, research, and charity once I graduate with my BA (Hons) Philosophy degree in December 2026. I already have one foot in those worlds, with my work at Youth Futures Foundation (the national What Works Centre for youth employment that focuses on getting marginalised young people into good work) as a Youth Voice ambassador in the policy function of the Future Voices Group (FVG). My policy group recently completed the creation of a creative asset on ‘trusted adults’, which we presented in Parliament at a roundtable attended by major policy leads and hosted by Josh Dean MP. 

If you’d like to read and learn more about that creative asset, see here: https://youthfuturesfoundation.org/publication/the-trusted-path/ 

If I were to round off this piece with a call to action, I’d say this – don’t underestimate the power and value of being a young person. Being young isn’t just an age or stage – it’s currency. Organisations are willing to fully cover travel, food & accommodation for you to share your lived experiences in-person and help them embed youth perspectives into their projects and policies – all in pursuit and respect of that core principle: ‘nothing about us, without us’. 

Participation in this Task & Finish group has taught and shown me that young people are not the leaders of tomorrow, they are the changemakers of today – the work is already happening, the fire just needs fuel. 

By Aarya Handa 

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