Youth Community Action programme to be axed

Started under Labour in March this year and backed by £146m of government funding, the pilot programme was designed to increase opportunities for teenagers to take part in community action initiatives with the ambition that all young people would eventually contribute at least 50 hours of voluntary work by the age of 19.

But the programme, which was being introduced through pilots in secondary schools in five local authorities in England, school support packages for all secondary schools and the Entry to Employment Programme, has been axed as part of the coalition’s measure to tackle the country’s financial deficit.

While the part of the programme reaching 16- to 18-year-olds will continue until the end of the financial year, the under-16 element of the scheme is ending immediately. This means that out of a £14m budget set aside for this year £7m will be clawed back by ending it early.

A Department for Education (DfE) spokeswoman said: "The action needed this year to address the deficit is unprecedented and the government has to make some difficult choices in order to achieve the necessary savings. We are still fully committed to youth volunteering.

"The National Citizen Service programme will act as a gateway to the big society for many young people by supporting them to develop the skills and attitudes they need to get more engaged with their communities and become active and responsible citizens."

But responding to today’s decision, Terry Ryall, chief executive of youth volunteering charity V, which delivers Vschools — the initiative supporting community action in secondary schools as part of the Youth Community Action programme — condemned the decision.

"We are extremely disappointed and alarmed by the decision to end the Youth Community Action programme," she said. "Everyone — political parties, the voluntary sector, teachers, the public and young people themselves — have been calling for years for all schools to get involved in social action and Vschools was delivering this.  

"In just four months, Vschools has established a universal volunteering and social action initiative for every state secondary school in England. Feedback from schools and local government has been universally positive and welcoming."

She added that the move contradicted the government’s big society agenda and is a false economy as "any actual savings to the public purse will be minimal, indeed potentially non-existent when set against the return on the investment that could have been achieved by letting the programme run as planned".

The DfE spokeswoman added: "Organisations such as V, with valuable experience of working with young people, have much to contribute to the [NCS] programme and we hope they continue to play a part in helping young people play a bigger role in their community."