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National Citizen Service

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National Citizen Service , also known as the NCS , is a Government-funded personal and social development program in England available for 16-17 year olds. The scheme is run by the NCS Trust, a public body for youth and a key component of the Government's National Youth Guarantee. Since being founded by David Cameron in 2009, NCS has provided around one million away-from-home youth development activities to 16 and 17-year-olds.

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19-579: The scheme will shut down in March 2025, following an announcement from Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy . The programme was designed and piloted in 2009 by social integration charity the Challenge. It was formally announced in 2010 by Prime Minister David Cameron as part of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government's Big Society initiative, and it was launched in 2011. When

38-731: A Royal Charter Body in 2018. In 2019, NCS created a network of Management and Delivery Partners for the 16 and 17-year-olds who take part in NCS. A Youth Voice Forum was also introduced, which won the Youth Friendly Employer Awards for Youth Voice in 2021. In 2023 the Youth Voice Forum grew into the Youth Advisory Board with 12 paid members aged between 18 and 24. During the Covid-19 pandemic,

57-530: A number of partners to deliver wider youth enrichment and work opportunities. The expenditure on the scheme in 2012 was estimated at £1,400 per individual and the scheme received almost half the Office for Civil Society 's total budget in 2013. The numbers who took part in the scheme were 26,000 in 2012, 40,000 in 2013, 57,000 in 2014, 75,000 in 2015, 93,000 in 2016 and nearly 99,000 in 2017 meaning one in six eligible 16 and 17-year-olds participated. In January 2017

76-526: A report examining whether it duplicates or complements existing schemes was commissioned. Cameron urged the Welsh Government to consider taking up the scheme and offering it across Wales. Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for culture, media and sport , also referred to as the culture secretary , is a secretary of state in the Government of

95-746: A separate department, had no minister in the Cabinet , sport was part of the Department for Education , film was part of the Department of Trade and Industry , broadcasting was part of the Home Office , tourism was part of the Department for Employment and heritage was part of the Department of the Environment . He also wrote that the system tended to favour the interests of the articulate and well-connected London -based arts lobby. Thus, when he became Prime Minister, Major said that he saw that

114-452: A supply chain of over 300 frontline youth organisations. In November 2024, it was announced that the programme would be wound down from March 2025 as part of the new Labour government's National Youth Strategy. Multiple programmes take place throughout the year in which 16 and 17-year-olds can choose to be part of an Away from Home experience, a Community Experience or a Digital Experience. The National Citizen Service (NCS) also works with

133-408: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport . Responsibilities include: The office was created in 1992 by Prime Minister John Major , as Secretary of State for National Heritage. In his autobiography, Major says that, before the office was created, responsibility for cultural interests was shared among various departments, but important to none of them. For instance, arts and libraries, although

152-692: The Department of National Heritage , the Department of Education and Science and the Department of the Environment . Sport is a devolved matter in Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland resting with the corresponding ministers in the Scottish Government , Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive , although when the Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended, responsibility went to

171-627: The National Audit Office reported that the NCS had "weaknesses" in governance and had "not prioritised cost control". It estimated that just 213,000 people would be participating in the programme in 2020–21, compared to a target of 360,000. The report suggested costs would have to be reduced by 29% in order to meet participation targets. In March 2017 the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons said that

190-634: The United Kingdom government , with responsibility for sport and Civil Society in England. In 2020, the role merged with that of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism to become Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society . The post covered sport as well as tourism and heritage . The sports minister has at various times previously reported to

209-678: The 2016 Queen's Speech it was announced that the scheme would be made permanent through the National Citizen Service Bill which was then introduced into the House of Lords by Lord Ashton of Hyde . The bill received Royal Assent in April 2017 and the resulting National Citizen Service Act created a statutory framework for the programme. The scheme was made permanent through the National Citizen Service Act 2017. With cross-party support, NCS became

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228-660: The NCS provided digital programmes. However, setting the NCS up at arm’s length, because its users were likely to distrust a government programme, contributed to a lack of financial control in its early years. The Institute for Government concluded that governance arrangements must be prioritised when a public body is established, so they must be correct from the off; independence and accountability should be carefully calibrated and any legislation, in particular, should be sufficiently flexible so as not to require updating for many years. In 2023-24 NCS provided away-from home youth development activities to 178,000 16 and 17-year-olds, through

247-584: The Trust. Current Regional Delivery Partners for NCS are listed on their Web site, and have included APM, The EBP, English Football League Trust, Ingeus, Inspira, Inspired Education and the National Youth Agency. A supply chain of over 100 organisations is involved in delivering the NCS. Each RDP is responsible for its team of LDPs and their delivery. A pilot scheme took place in Wales in 2014 and

266-891: The United Kingdom , with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department for Culture, Media and Sport . The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom . The office has been dubbed "Minister of Fun". King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The secretary has overall responsibility for strategy and policy across

285-679: The cost per participant of NCS was £1,863. In July 2018 the Minister for Sport and Civil Society Tracey Crouch said that in 2016 NCS had spent almost £10m on places which were never filled. In August 2018 the Local Government Association said that in 2016 the number of 16 and 17-year-olds taking part in NCS amounted to 12% of those eligible, and suggested that some of the money could be more effectively spent on local council youth services , spending on which fell from £650 million in 2010–11 to £390 million in 2016–17. Over

304-457: The four years from 2014–5 to 2017–18 UK government spending on NCS was £634 million which accounted for 95% of all UK government spending on youth services. In the four years from 2019 NCS funding dropped by 69%. The programme is delivered through a number of Regional Delivery Partners (RDPs) and Local Delivery Partners (LDPs). The government has the power to promote the scheme by sending letters to 16 and 17-year-olds as they turn 16 on behalf of

323-552: The high cost of the scheme could not be justified and its participation targets remained challenging despite being significantly reduced. The total expenditure committed to the scheme by the government between 2011/12 and 2019/20 is £1.5 billion. £600 million of this had been spent by April 2017, with £900 million of the expenditure remaining. Research carried out in the spring of 2017 indicated that affluent individuals are less likely to attend university if they take part in NCS, while poorer individuals are more likely to do so. At that time

342-402: The only way to give culture and sport the higher profile that he thought that they deserved was to establish a new department, under a minister of Cabinet rank, to bring together all aspects of the arts, sport and heritage. Minister for Sport and Civil Society The minister for sport and civil society was a junior minister in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport of

361-586: The scheme was launched critics expected it to be an unpopular and unsuccessful non-military version of national service . Subsequently, however, it achieved cross-party support in Parliament . After the 2015 general election , the programme was continued under the Conservative government. In October 2016 Cameron, who had resigned as Prime Minister, became chairman of the NCS Trust's patrons' board. In

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