Conservative conference: Teen citizenship programme needs commitment to funding

First announced by David Cameron at the party's conference last year, the voluntary initiative would see young people spending six weeks on Outward Bound challenges and community work ending with a graduation-type ceremony.

But at a fringe meeting at this year's conference in Manchester, fears were again raised over how the scheme might be funded and staffed.

Shaks Ghosh, chief executive of the Private Equity Foundation, warned against an over-reliance on volunteers saying the programme needed to be properly staffed to be effective.

"Let's not go for the cheap option we have to be realistic that this is a huge cost to the nation," she said. "Especially for those young people that are from particularly difficult backgrounds you are going to need professional staff."

She added that the initiative should be made attractive to businesses in order to secure their financial support.

The party has been following pilots of the scheme, run by charity the Shaftesbury Partnership that took place over the summer in the London boroughs of Southwark, and Hammersmith and Fulham.

While the full evaluation of the schemes are not yet completed shadow children's minister Tim Loughton told the meeting that a disproportionate number of black girls came forward to take part in the scheme and that the challenging nature of the activity had meant some young people had dropped out.

But he added that the pilots had been successful and he was keen to see them rolled out nationally.

"This is not a holiday, it is about taking kids out of their comfort zone," Loughton said. "It is about providing ongoing community opportunities that are meaningful such that young people are respected in the public psyche."