A study carried out by Ipsos Mori into the 2014 programme calculated that it may not have achieved a return on investment of more than the basic cost in both the spring and autumn programmes.
The NCS programme in spring 2014 cost a total of £5.9m and was estimated to deliver social benefits, such as improved education outcomes, volunteering, leadership skills, general wellbeing and reduced smoking, of between £4.4m and £18.3m.
This equates to a benefit-to-cost ratio of between £0.75 and £3.11 for every £1 spent.
Meanwhile the NCS programme in Autumn 2014, which cost a total of £14.9m, was estimated to have delivered social benefits valued at between £14.3m and £25.4m.
This equates to a benefit-to-cost ratio of between £0.96 and £1.71 for every £1 spent – lower than previous estimates for the Autumn 2013 programme of between £1.09 and £6.09 for every £1 spent.
The report adds that the estimates "slightly understate" the full costs of the programme, as in some cases the parents of participants will also have made financial contributions to the cost of NCS of up to £50.
However, the NCS Summer programme, which cost £63.4m, was estimated to have delivered social benefits valued at between £70.8m and £252.6m, which equates to a benefit-to-cost ratio of between £1.12 and £3.98 for every £1 spent.
Michael Lynas, chief executive of NCS Trust, said: “These evaluations show that NCS is much more than an enjoyable summer experience – it is making a long-term difference and helping to build a more socially cohesive, mobile and engaged country.
“Over three hundred charities bring NCS to life and they should feel proud that they have enabled more than 200,000 teenagers to fast forward their futures, and to give an extra 8m hours to their local communities.”
In October CYP Now reported that the programme had failed to hit its recruitment target in 2014.
A total of 57,609 young people took part in the programme for 15- to 17-year-olds during 2014 despite Prime Minister David Cameron previously pledging to provide 90,000 places.
The NCS was launched in 2010 and Prime Minister David Cameron has said he wants all teenagers in the country to be able to take part in the scheme.
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