Doors open on multi-million pound youth fund taking young people from streets to safe spaces

Thousands of young people across England are set to benefit from safer spaces, trusted support and inspiring activities, as The Million Hours Fund reopens today, Wednesday 6 August, to expand youth work in areas of England hit hardest by anti-social behaviour.

From arts to sport to educational activities, the programme will support local youth organisations to expand their services — keeping centres open for longer, steering young people away from harmful influences and helping to build their confidence and skills for a brighter future.

Backed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and The National Lottery Community Fund, this £19 million joint funding initiative will support youth work and activities. It also builds on the previous rounds of the Million Hours Fund that launched in 2023 and aims to fund over a million additional hours of youth work. It will provide vital support for young people aged 10 to 18 — and up to 25 for those with disabilities or special educational needs — while putting their voices front and centre of how projects are delivered.

Increasing youth provision aligns closely with the Government’s Opportunities and Safer Street Missions. It is proven to have positive impacts on wellbeing, essential skills, reducing crime and anti-social behaviour and increasing community engagement.

Secretary of State for Culture Lisa Nandy, said: “We have heard loud and clear from young people that they need access to spaces where they can develop their talents, build confidence, and build relationships.

"As part of our Plan for Change, we are investing £19 million to expand youth provision in areas with high rates of anti-social behaviour through the Million Hours Fund.

"For too long young people have been an afterthought, but through the National Youth Strategy, we have carried out the biggest listening exercise with young people in a generation, giving them the opportunity to shape the policies that will affect their lives."

Empowering children and young people to thrive—and to shape the decisions and activities that affect their futures - is central to The National Lottery Community Fund’s strategy to 2030.

Phil Chamberlain, England Director at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: 

“We’re delighted to be re-opening the doors of The Million Hours Fund to bring much needed additional youth provision and positive activities to young people in England. 

“With this new round of funding we will go further, supporting more local clubs and groups to stay open longer and provide meaningful, safe alternatives to antisocial behaviour.

“This is about keeping young people engaged - off the streets into safe spaces -and placing them at the heart of project design and delivery, helping them build the skills and support networks they need to thrive.”

Applications now open

Projects must take place in, or benefit young people in, one of the designated areas with higher levels of antisocial behaviour and should involve young people in shaping how activities are delivered. Full eligibility criteria and application guidance is available on the programme’s website.

Youth organisations working in eligible wards across England are encouraged to apply from today with a closing date of midday on 22 October 2025. If more organisations apply than we expect we may have to stop accepting applications before our deadline. So you should apply as soon as you are ready, instead of waiting until the deadline.

Last year, The National Lottery Community Fund awarded over half a billion pounds (£686.3 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK, thanks to players of the National Lottery, supporting over 13,700 projects to turn their great ideas into reality.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk

Date published: 6 August, 2025
Region: England

Notes to Editors

The Million Hours Fund

The Million Hours Fund first opened in summer 2023 to provide extra youth work hours and activities over the summer holidays.

Over £3.7 million was awarded from the first round over summer 2023, enabling more than 400 youth services to support young people in antisocial behaviour hotspots as the school gates closed for the summer.

This new round is co-funded, with £12 million of Government funding, to be spent by 31 March 2026 and £7 million of National Lottery funding, to be spent by 31 March 2027.

About The National Lottery Community Fund

We are the largest non-statutory community funder in the UK – community is at the heart of our purpose, vision and name.

We support activities that create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable and that will strengthen society and improve lives across the UK.

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with government to distribute vital grants and funding from key government programmes and initiatives.

As well as responding to what communities tell us is important to them, our funding is focused on four key missions, supporting communities to:

1. Come together

2. Be environmentally sustainable

3. Help children and young people thrive

4. Enable people to live healthier lives.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, we distribute over £600 million a year through 13,000+ grants and plan to invest over £4 billion of funding into communities by 2030. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £49 billion has been raised and more than 690,000 individual grants have been made across the UK - the equivalent of around 240 National Lottery grants in every UK postcode district.

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Million Hours Fund

This funding is for extra hours of youth work for additional activities to give young people more places to go and positive things to do.