Council leaders condemn massive funding of David Cameron’s citizenship scheme, while youth services slashed

‘At a time of devastating cuts, the government cannot justify exclusively funding NCS at the expense of other vital youth services,’ says Labour

Town hall leaders have called for funding to be diverted from David Cameron’s youth citizenship dream in favour of locally-funded services that have been cut to the bone.

Only 12 per cent of eligible teenagers signed up to the National Citizen Service (NCS) in 2016, despite the government ploughing 95 per cent of its youth services budget – or £634m – into the scheme between 2014-15 and 2017-18, according to official figures.

Launched in 2011 as part of the then Tory prime minister’s “Big Society” agenda, the four-week scheme seeks to empower 15 to 17-year-olds through a series of community projects.

Critics have raised questions over the scheme’s value for money in the face of swingeing government cuts to youth provision, as councils have been forced to slash spending by 40 per cent, from £650m in 2010-11 to just £390m in 2016-17.

More than 600 youth centres closed and nearly 139,000 youth service places were lost between 2012 and 2016.

It comes as Tory-run Northamptonshire County Council held crisis talks over whether it could sustain services for vulnerable children and adult social care after the cash-strapped local authority was forced to impose emergency spending controls for the second time in six months.

The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 370 councils in England and Wales, said NCS funds would be better spent on all-year-round provision for young people, rather than short programmes for a small age group with low uptake.

Anntoinette Bramble, chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “A time limited programme of work cannot provide the trusted, longer-term relationships that are a valued element of youth work, and that are needed by some young people to develop the self-esteem, confidence and skills to take part in such programmes.

“Councils have been forced to cut important services for thousands of young residents in recent years as a result of increasingly squeezed budgets, so it is wrong that nearly all of the government’s funding for youth services is being spent on a very short programme which attracts only a small number of participants.

“The government needs to devolve a slice of the funding to councils so they can begin to scale back the cuts to council youth services and provide targeted support to a much wider group of young people locally all year round, whether that is giving them safe spaces to meet, diverting them away from crime or supporting them to succeed in school, training or employment.”

It comes after critical reports from MPs and the government’s spending watchdog, which questioned the “seemingly high” cost of £1,863 per person in 2016.

Shadow youth affairs minister Cat Smith said: “NCS provides great opportunities for young people.

“However, a four-week programme is not enough to make up for the systematic removal of youth services across this country.

“At a time of devastating cuts, the government cannot justify exclusively funding NCS at the expense of other vital youth services.”

Labour has pledged to make it a legal obligation for youth services to be provided across England as part of efforts to stem the rising tide of violent crime by preventing young people being lured into gangs.

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson said: “The National Citizen Service has improved the lives of 400,000 young people in disadvantaged areas across the country – teaching life skills, improving confidence and boosting employability.

“In addition, we are investing £80m of Exchequer and lottery funding on projects for young people. This includes opening new youth clubs, improving mental health support services and encouraging young people to take part in volunteering.”