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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost per young person is of the National Citizenship Service programme.

The January 2017 NAO report stated that the National Citizen Service (NCS) cost £1,825 per place for the 2015 programme. This figure took account of both provider costs and NCS Trust costs.

The recently published independent evaluation of the 2015 programme took a different approach and focused only on provider costs. For the summer 2015 NCS programme, this cost per place was £1,620.

We recognise that, as the programme continues to expand, there is a need to focus on reducing the overall unit cost of NCS to drive better value for money. This will continue to be a key focus for the DCMS and the Trust as the programme grows.