The Local Government Association (LGA) today has said that funding for the National Citizen Service (NCS), a four-week summer scheme for 15 to 17-year-olds, should be given to local councils to fund youth work services after it revealed only 12% of eligible teens took part in NCS in 2016.
Responding to the LGA’s calls, Denise Hatton, Chief Executive for YMCA England & Wales, said:
“YMCA has seen first-hand the positive benefit that NCS can have on a young person’s life. However, what NCS cannot replace are the year-round youth services which make vital interventions when young people need them most. Our own research found that local authority spending on youth services had reduced by more than £750m since 2010/11 across England and Wales.
“In order to fully support young people in their development, the Government need to re-evaluate their spending on youth services to ensure that both NCS and local youth services are funded sufficiently.”