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Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 18 December 2025

Debate

UK-EU Common Understanding Negotiations

Contribution

I thank my noble friend. He is right that this is for young people in the round. That is why I was delighted that the chief executive of the National Youth Agency welcomed yesterday’s announcement as “a significant moment for young people across the UK. With Erasmus+ officially back, we are reopening doors to global learning, cultural exchange, and opportunities that shape futures”. At a time of global instability, it is incredibly important that we have close relationships with our friends and allies and that we understand that the world is more than our borders. This is for as many young people as possible, and we expect and hope to see 100,000 young people participate in this scheme in 2027. On next steps, the funding call opens in November 2026—I must correct myself, as I think I said October 2026 previously—and will be open until February 2027. There are two pots of money, the first of which will be over £400 million that will come directly to the participating organisations, and there is a £1 billion pot that individuals and institutions can bid into. This is very exciting, and I hope noble Lords will share my enthusiasm in their local communities.

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