To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of how youth services, including outdoor recreation facilities, youth clubs and other initiatives can be used to keep young people away from crime and antisocial activity.

Youth services, delivered by the Education Authority in conjunction with the voluntary and community sectors, support the personal and social development of children and young people. The range of provision includes generic services that assist in limiting the need for early intervention or targeted support, detached/outreach youth work that promotes safety and stability and targeted initiatives aimed at young people who may not avail of traditional youth services or that require additional supports and interventions. All of these are based on assessed need and reflect not only the more generic needs of children and young people but also the specific needs of identified groups, including those at risk of getting involved in antisocial activity and criminality.

Such targeted initiatives include:

the START programme that works with young people who have been harmed by paramilitary groups and/or those who are most at risk of becoming involved in paramilitary activity;

SYTES programme and Youth Volunteer Academy that promotes lawfulness and prevents radicalisation of young people in local communities;

RAPID response service that provides diversionary activities and support to the most vulnerable young people aged 14-25 engaged in, or on the fringe of, anti-community and anti-social behaviour in identified flashpoint areas across Northern Ireland;

Planned Interventions aimed at young people in interface areas and areas where there is the potential of heightened social unrest during the summer period.

TBUC Camps programme to provide opportunities for young people aged 11-19 across Northern Ireland to come together to build positive relationships.

Services are delivered through a range of youth facilities including youth clubs and outdoor learning centres. The latter provide young people with the opportunity to participate in adventure activities that are exciting and engaging and which provide a sense of achievement in a managed environment. They can also create in a positive way, the risk/reward context which young people have stated they associate with anti-community behaviours and crime. Outdoor learning is an integral part of the youth service programme.