Ella Bailey
The UK Government plans to phase out the NCS scheme as it initiates a consultation on a new youth strategy. NCS (National Citizen Service) is a UK youth volunteering service and social development program that provides 16 to 17-year-olds volunteering opportunities to gain relevant skills and build their confidence.
“the world has changed, and we need a youth strategy that reflects that”.
It was set up by David Cameron’s coalition government as part of his “Big Society” platform and since 2011 has engaged approximately 178,000 young people in experiences. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said that the scheme is no longer relevant in today’s world so it will begin to permanently shut in March 2025 announcing that “the world has changed, and we need a youth strategy that reflects that”.
NCS stated that they were “sad and disappointed” by the announcement but remain “immensely proud” of the work they have done. The programme also expressed its hopes that the government will continue to support youth initiatives as there “has never been a more important time for the kind of work that NCS delivers”, particularly due to the impact of Covid on younger generations.
establish a Local Youth Transformation pilot
Conservative Shadow Culture Secretary Stuart Andrew said that the opposition couldn’t support the scrapping of NCS but welcomes any focus the Government puts on young people. In its place, the government plans to establish a Local Youth Transformation pilot to revitalise the council’s youth services and expand the Creative Careers Programme to provide new revenues for young people to get into careers in the arts.
Ella Bailey
Featured image courtesy of Nick Kane via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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