The people of Scotland have spoken. The 2026 Scottish Parliament election has returned a more diverse and finely balanced Parliament, with six parties represented and no single party holding an overall majority. That means every vote, every budget negotiation and every legislative commitment will count. It also creates a real opportunity to build cross-party consensus around what Scotland’s young people need.

YouthLink Scotland’s Youth Work Sector Manifesto: A Right, A Space, A Future, sets out three clear national commitments: a legal right to youth work for all young people; universal access to spaces where youth work can happen; and sustained, ring-fenced, multi-year investment in the youth work workforce and infrastructure.

As our 2026 Scottish Election Manifesto Report, prepared by Sarah Paterson, our Public Affairs Manager, demonstrates, the party manifestos showed important openings for youth work. There was strong alignment from the Scottish Greens and Scottish Liberal Democrats, a legislative opportunity through the Liberal Democrat proposal for a Youth Work Bill, strong Conservative support for free access to public buildings, a focus on youth entrepreneurship by Reform and prevention and funding commitments from Labour and the SNP. But no party fully adopted the sector’s complete three-part ask.

Youth work cannot be treated only as an add-on when problems emerge. Too often, it is framed through crisis: youth violence, school absence, mental health, employability or anti-social behaviour. Of course, youth work helps prevent harm, supports wellbeing, strengthens learning and builds safer communities. But it is more than a response to crisis. It is education. It is prevention. It is participation. It is community. It is a right every young person should be able to rely on, regardless of postcode, background or family income.

The sector’s manifesto was backed by voices from policing, business, children’s rights and youth leadership because there is now a broad understanding that youth work is one of Scotland’s best preventative investments. YouthLink Scotland’s consultation found that 97% of young people believe youth work should be a right for all, and 96% want more funding and access to skilled youth workers.

The new Parliament now has a choice. It can continue with short-term, fragmented and inconsistent support, or it can build the National Youth Work System that Scotland needs. That means turning supportive words into statutory entitlement, opening up schools and community venues, and moving beyond pilot projects towards long-term investment that allows organisations to plan, retain staff and reach the young people who need them most.

Scotland’s young people have waited long enough. The new Parliament must make youth work a national priority: guaranteed by law, available in every community, and sustained for the future.