Youth leaders question Conservative plan for national service
Fiona Simpson
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Conservative plans for a year of compulsory national service for 18-year-olds if the party wins the election on 4 July have raised questions among youth sector leaders.
The programme, expected to cost £2.5 billion per year, would offer young people two options:
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Community volunteering through spending one weekend a month with organisations such as the NHS, fire service, ambulance, search and rescue, and critical local infrastructure.
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Military training through one of up to 30,000 “selective” military placements reserved for teenagers deemed the “brightest and the best” in areas like logistics, cyber security, procurement or civil response operations over a year-long period.
Speaking to the BBC, Home Secretary James Cleverly said that the plans would be compulsory by law but added that there would be non-criminal sanctions for those who refused.
The Labour Party has labelled the pledge a “gimmick” while some youth sector leaders have questioned why suggested funding could not be used to boost existing services and tackle areas like child poverty.
Leigh Middleton, chief executive of the National Youth Agency (NYA), wrote on X: “So we can as a nation find £2.5bn to invest in young people. How about we spend that on year-round, weekly youth provision within a 30-minute walk of young people's homes or schools?
“£2.5bn would back a comprehensive youth service to fix the youth mental health crisis, solve youth unemployment, solve the school attendance crisis and show a generation their country backs them to succeed.”
The national service we need from our young people is to vote for change on 4th July. 🗳️
— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) May 26, 2024
Steve Chalke, founder of Oasis Charitable Trust, added: “Instead of ignoring [the] fact that young people already volunteer and then spending £2.5bn a year on a national service scheme for 18-year-olds, why not use it to lift children out of poverty, invest in schools, fix the broken care system, and put cash into our mental health and youth services?”
Anne Longfield, chair of the Centre for Young Lives, and former Children’s Commissioner for England said: “Imagine what we could do with £12bn per parliament to spend on young people - lift children out of poverty, fix the broken care system, improve support for mental health, invest in education, rebuild youth services. It's a long list and not a gimmick.”
Ndidi Okezie, chief executive of UK Youth, urged colleagues not to get “caught up in debating the specifics of mandatory participation or the merits of various programmes”.
"Regardless of the specific programmes we may create, let us not get distracted by the discussion of them. What is more crucial is that we address the systemic gap in youth support, if we are to truly set up all young people to thrive.
"By focusing on providing consistent, high-quality youth development provision, we can create a society that nurtures its young people and helps them reach their full potential,” she said.
Introducing National Service. Wondering how it will improve your or your child’s future?
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) May 26, 2024
Here are the five things you need to know 👇
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If elected, the military tranche of the programme would be piloted in September 2025, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said, with the whole scheme in force by “the end of the next parliament”, which could be as late as 2029.
