Charities are being invited to apply to manage the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DDCMS)’s Youth Investment Fund Capital (YIF Capital).

The Fund has been created to tackle a shortage of youth centres. Money will be used to invest in new buildings and facilities. It will also look to improve access to centres for young people and improve the quality of existing buildings.

The DDCMS says its current preference for a grant administration partner to manage the Fund is a voluntary, community, social enterprise or youth sector organisation “with experience in grant delivery, capital expertise and knowledge of the youth sector”.

“The Grant Administrator will need to demonstrate experience of technical assessment and timely management of capital projects, and the ability to work with local and national stakeholders in the Youth sector,” state DDCMS documents.

The documents add: “We are particularly interested in common requirements between places, where the government could achieve efficiencies and better value for money, through the commissioning and central procurement for multiple youth facilities, for example new modular buildings and pre-fabricated expansions to existing facilities.”

The government is to select 60 council areas to benefit from the funding and then invest “in the most viable and impactful projects”. Ministers are expecting local bids for capital funding to be made by local charities, youth groups and councils.

The YIF Capital will be delivered within the current financial year and is the initial funding from its Youth Investment Fund, which was a 2019 Conservative Party general election manifesto commitment.

Last year youth sector charities raised concerns over delays in setting up the Fund. According to the charity led coalition the funding had “still not materialised” by the end of 2020.

Data from youth charities, also released last year, detailed the perilous financial position many in the sector faced as their reserves run out.

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