The government should scrap the National Citizen Service (NCS) and use the money to properly fund council youth services, the Liberal Democrats said,
Branding the youth programme “David Cameron’s pet project” Lib Dem education spokesperson Daisy Cooper said the money should be given councils who would make better use of it.
The policy recommendation comes amid warnings of the widespread impact of lockdown on children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.
“Children and young people have experienced devastating upheaval in the last year- spending months out of school and isolated from their friends. As we begin to emerge from lockdown, educational and emotional recovery must go hand in hand,” said Ms Cooper.
“Local authority run youth services can play a crucial role in supporting young people to recover from the impact of the last year. They are embedded within their local communities so are best placed to understand the needs of the young people they work with.”
The NCS was announced by Mr Cameron in 2010 as part of the Tory-Lib Dem coalition’s “Big Society” initiative, launching in 2011.
It is a voluntary school holiday programme that offers two to four week programmes covering outdoor education, independent living, and a “social action” element such as fundraising. The government made the scheme, which covers 16 and 17 year olds, permanent in 2017.
The scheme has received £1.26 billion in government funding from 2016 to 2020. The Lib Dems also want the government’s announced £500 million Youth Investment Fund to be allocated to councils.
More than 600 youth centres closed between 2010 and 2018 as councils struggled to make savings required by central government cuts.
In a letter to the government Ms Cooper said the NCS provided only a “short, time-limited programme to a limited age group” and that local services would be more useful,
Ms Cooper added: “The NCS does some good work but properly funded local youth services will reach more young people and provide a wider range of services.
“This includes vital work on education, providing mental and emotional wellbeing support as well as social, creative and sporting activities.
“The Government must urgently reallocate funding to local authorities so that every young person can access the services they need, wherever they live in the UK.”
The Local Government Association made a similar call for funding to be devolved to councils last year.
