Earl of Effingham
Main Page: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)National Youth Strategy
Earl of Effingham Excerpts
The Earl of Effingham (Con)
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay of St Johns, for securing this important discussion.
As my noble friend Lady Stedman-Scott has highlighted, it appears that we are at a genuinely critical juncture where statistics suggest that approximately 987,000 individuals aged between 16 and 24 are not engaged in education, employment or training. This group of citizens not only face personal challenges but represent a material loss to our nation’s productivity and social cohesion.
It is of huge concern that many young people in our country appear to be in silent crisis. His Majesty’s Official Opposition recognise the huge importance of nurturing our future hard-working and upstanding members of the community, ensuring that they are equipped with skills and values while being offered the opportunities that are necessary to lead fulfilling lives and contribute meaningfully to our society.
It is therefore a great loss from our perspective that in November last year His Majesty’s Government ended the National Citizen Service scheme, introduced by my noble friend Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton as part of his big society initiative. The scheme had an approval rating of 93% and delivered over 1 million experiences to young people, and participants have taken part in over 18 million hours of volunteering. The programme helped our youth to feel valued and purposeful, with my noble friend Lord Cameron describing the decision as a deeply backward and regrettable step. With all due respect to the Government, His Majesty’s Official Opposition agree. On our watch, we committed to allocating £500 million over the period 2023-26 to fund the national youth guarantee, which sought to ensure that every young person in England aged between 11 and 18 had access to regular clubs and activities for after-school enjoyment, experiences away from home and opportunities to volunteer.
We have a number of questions for the Minister. What were the key reasons behind the decision to abolish the National Citizen Service scheme, given its role in engaging over 1 million young people since its inception? How does the new national youth strategy differ from the NCS in terms of objectives, funding and reach, and how will it ensure the same or greater levels of youth participation? The NCS provided structured opportunities for personal development, social mobility and civic engagement. How does the new strategy plan to replace or enhance those elements?
Can the Minister please clarify how the funding previously allocated to the NCS is now being used under the national youth strategy, and whether there will be increased investment in grassroots youth services? Lastly, given the need for consistency and long term planning in youth development, how do the Government intend to measure the success of the national youth strategy, compared to the impact assessments previously conducted for the NCS?