National citizen scheme 'to treble'

David Cameron's flagship National Citizen Service project will treble in size by 2014, it was announced today.

In his keynote speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Mr Cameron said the scheme was "building stronger communities".

Next year the scheme will be available to 30,000 teenagers, rising to 90,000 by 2014 as the Tories hope to turn the programme into a "rite of passage" open to all 16-year-olds.

Mr Cameron said: "Building stronger communities is why we've introduced National Citizen Service ... One of the people who took part this year, Owen Carter, wrote to me and said: 'This has changed my perspective of life - you can do anything if you work hard and have a supportive team around you. You can do anything'.

"That's the spirit I'm talking about. That's why we're tripling the scale of National Citizen Service.

"That's how we'll build our Big Society. That is leadership."

PA