Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what adjustment his Department has made to the grant allocated to NCS Trust as a result of the cancellation of summer programmes this year following the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Department is working closely with the NCS Trust, the Government Arms’ Length Body commissioned to deliver the programme, to develop an alternative offer for this summer. The details of the alternative summer programme, and its financial implications, are being developed at pace between DCMS,the NCS Trust and their supplier network.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding has been allocated to NCS in each year since its inception; how much funding was budgeted for in 2020; and if he will also publish that figure as spend per participant.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The table below shows the funding provided by Government to the National Citizen Service since the programme started in 2011. Please note that the NCS programme was sponsored by the Cabinet Office from inception until 2016/17.
Year | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 |
Total grant funding (£M) | 21 | 62 | 84 | 117 | 155 | 181 | 186 | 189 | 176 |
As per the Main Estimates the total funding envelope for NCS Trust in 2020/21 (including depreciation) is £177.8m. A delegated budget to the NCS Trust will be agreed following a review of funding requirements for the 2020 Summer programme.
The spend per participant was £1,764 for financial year 2018/19, as noted in the 2018/19 NCS Annual Report. The 2019/2020 NCS Annual Report will include a best estimate unit cost and will be published in Q4 2020. The 2020/2021 Annual Report will be published after the end of the financial year.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to reduce the leaving package of the departing Chief Executive of the NCS Trust; and what provisions he has instituted for limits on remuneration of remaining employees.
Answered by Matt Warman
Earlier this month we were made aware of an unacceptable exit package proposed for the outgoing NCS Chief Executive.
We have taken swift action on this issue, and are investigating wider issues around governance. We have made clear that every element of the outgoing Chief Executive’s departure must comply with HM Treasury guidance on Managing Public Money.
A new CEO has joined the NCS Trust this week and we are clear that we expect the organisation going forward to be completely focussed on helping level up the country with strong opportunities for young people from all backgrounds.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the (a) National Citizen Service and (b) NCS Trust.
Answered by Oliver Dowden
The most recent publicly available figure from the NCS 2016 evaluation report show that for every £1 of taxpayer money spent on the 2016 summer programme, £1.79 is provided back to society by the NCS programme in terms of the economic benefit. For the 2016 Autumn programme for every £1 spend, £2.21 is provided back in terms of the economic benefits. The economic benefits relate to the identified impact the NCS programme has in respect to volunteering and leadership.
The NCS Trust is the Royal Chartered Arms-Length Body overseeing and implementing the programme, in line with the NCS Act 2017. The NCS Trust’s budget is reviewed and approved by DCMS on an annual basis in line with Managing Public Money standards. The National Audit Office audits the NCS Trust’s accounts each year.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress the Government has made on its review of youth work; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In July 2019 my department commenced a review of the statutory guidance which sets out the statutory duty placed on Local Authorities to provide local youth services. Since July 2019 officials have held roundtables with the youth sector, consultations with young people, and ran a public call for evidence, which closed in December 2019. DCMS officials are currently reviewing responses to inform the next stage of the review.
This government has announced it will be investing £500 million over five years through the Youth Investment Fund to increase the availability of youth services. The fund will be used to build new youth centres across the country, refurbish existing youth facilities, provide mobile facilities for harder to reach areas, and invest in the youth work profession and frontline services. Government is also funding up to £7 million through the Youth Accelerator Fund that will expand existing successful projects delivering positive activities, and address urgent needs in the youth sector by delivering extra sessions in youth clubs.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on the restitution of antiquities from national museums to their country of origin.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Our 15 national museums hold world-class collections in trust for the nation that are seen in their global context by over 40 million visitors each year. Decisions relating to museum collections are a matter for the trustees of each museum, who operate independently of government. UK law prevents some national museums from removing items from their collections. The two exceptions to this are human remains, under 1000 years old, and cultural property spoliated during the Nazi era.
We are committed to supporting our museums in dealing confidently with all aspects of restitution. Our national development agency for museums, Arts Council England, which is sponsored by my department, is currently working to refresh existing sector guidelines on restitution for UK museums.