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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the cost-effectiveness of the National Citizen Service programme compared with other youth social action programmes.

National Citizen Service (NCS) is a unique programme for young people focused around adventure, discovery and giving back to communities. Robust, independent evaluations show that NCS delivers positive impacts for young people and value for money. For every £1 spent, it generates up to £3.98 of social benefits.

Government has evaluated the impact of investment in a range of youth social action opportunities as part of Step Up To Serve’s #iwill campaign. Funding has also been provided to the Centre for Youth Impact to develop the youth sector’s capability to design, deliver and commission cost­effective services for young people.