Government announces organisations selected to deliver National Citizen Service

The Government has today announced the names of 8 organisations chosen to help expand the NCS over the next two years.

The selected organisations include the Football League Trust and Inspira (formerly Connexions Cumbria). Some colleges have also pledged their involvement, such as New College Nottingham and Petroc. The organisations have been chosen based on their capacity to deliver a high-quality NCS programme.

National Citizen Service offers 16-and 17-year-olds from different backgrounds life experience by putting them into teams away from home and setting them the task of finding solutions to local problems or issues. The scheme forms a part of the Coalition Government’s Big Society policy; Encouraging people to take active roles in their communities is a priority of the manifesto.

The announcement comes after two years of ‘successful’ pilot programmes. Findings published today cite that 92% of young people taking part would recommend the scheme to friends; that it benefits young people’s teamwork, communication and leadership skills.

The Government has expanded the reach of the NCS programme by appointing lead organisations responsible for programme delivery in 19 regions across England.
Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society has said “Our ambition is to make National Citizen Service universal so that all 16 and 17 year-olds can take part”.

Over 120 organisations will be involved in the national and local delivery of NCS over the next two years; 8 bidders were successful out of 57 bids placed. The successful bidders will be given two-year contracts, with the option to extend for a further year to cover delivery in 2015.

The contracts have been designed carefully so that all organisations will have funding to enable delivery, with 75% of the payment being made in advance of delivery. The scheme has been promised to be a ‘low financial risk’ and ‘good value to the taxpayer’.