In its report into youth services the committee said it could not give its backing to the programme in its current form given the costs involved and the degree to which youth services across the country are being cut.
The analysis of the programme by the committee compared the NCS scheme with a similar model provided by the German government. While NCS costs around £1,182 per young person for a six-week stint, the German equivalent cost £1,228 per young person for a whole year’s work-based volunteering.
While the committee praised the aspiration of the government to eventually expand NCS to reach all 16-year-olds, it said the cost would surpass £350m each year even if only half the young people take up the scheme, a sum the members could not support.
Chair of the committee Graham Stuart said: "The government's idea of using the National Citizen Service to inspire young people to engage with their communities, mix socially and build their skills is a good one.
"However, the pilots are proving to be expensive and full roll-out would be hard to justify when cuts, which the government itself calls disproportionate, are impacting existing youth services provided by local authorities. The NCS should be adapted so that it accredits existing programmes while introducing a new focus and resources into the sector."
The report went on to criticise the government for failing to produce a youth policy or strategy at a time when local authority youth services were experiencing cuts of between 20 and 100 per cent.
"The government hasn't produced a youth strategy and, in the meantime, services like youth clubs are being slashed by local authorities in their bid to balance the books," Stuart said. "The government, local authorities and service providers all need to understand and demonstrate the effectiveness of youth services, not stand by while they are dismantled."
Looking to the future, the report concluded that there is scope for greater use of alternative sources of funding within the sector such as philanthropic funds and social impact bonds but it ruled out the use of payment-by-result schemes, saying these would be unworkable.
It also made a number of recommendations aimed at improving local authority commissioning of services, which include asking all councils to undertake a review of what young people in their area want and need to avoid duplication and waste.
In its forthcoming outcomes framework the committee also suggested that the government should take account of personal and social wellbeing measures and involve young people in its design.
Responding to the report's findings, children's minister Tim Loughton said: "I am disappointed that the select committee has sought to undermine NCS pilots before they have even got off the ground. I agree with the committee that we need evidence-based policies to ensure appropriate and quality services, which is precisely what the NCS pilots will provide."
Loughton added that all NCS money was additional money for youth services, not an alternative and that it was down to local authorities to decide how best to deliver youth services for their communities.
"At every stage of policy making the government has listened to the experiences and views of young people," he said. It's a shame there was an almost total absence of young people themselves giving evidence to the committee, particularly those young people who took part in early NCS pilots run by the Challenge who universally said they benefitted enormously from the unique experience."
