Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what purpose is served by the National Citizen Service; who benefits from its provision; and what diversity data is available relating to that service.

NCS was created to help build a more responsible, more cohesive, more engaged society. The government is committed to providing a place on NCS for every young person who wants one.

Social mix is at the core of National Citizen Service and all young people, regardless of background, are supported to take part in the programme.

In 2014, 17% of NCS participants were eligible for free school meals, compared with around 8% of young people of the same age in the general population.

The national picture of NCS shows that young people from disadvantaged and minority ethnic backgrounds are well represented. The latest evaluation showed that 30% of NCS participants were from Black, Mixed or Asian backgrounds compared with 19% of the general population.

The 2014 evaluation demonstrates that NCS graduates are more confident leaders and decision-makers. 7 in 10 NCS graduates felt more confident about getting a job, and more than 9 in 10 graduates felt NCS helped them develop useful skills for the future. Data from the summer 2014 programme showed that participants who were eligible for free school meals generally showed larger increases in personal resilience than others.