The idea of being obliged to spend a year being conscripted into the military is rightly discredited. However, the arguments in favour of all young people – men and women, able-bodied and disabled – and from all class and ethnic backgrounds spending between one and two years in compulsory National Community Service is growing. The Government is moving slowly in the right direction. At last years’ Labour Party conference, Gordon Brown said, “Let us do more to support what gives young people opportunity and idealism: a youth community national service offering thousands of chances to expand horizons.”
However, if the Left does not move quickly the Conservatives will steal another plank of what should be part of the progressive agenda. David Cameron has said that he wants, “Something like National Service. Not military. Not compulsory. But in the same spirit. A residential programme so young people have real time to work together.”
Whatever the defects of former military programmes, they did at least provide some common reference point for connection and reflection, a shared experience, which we only (just) share nowadays during World Cup finals. Today’s lack of collective consciousness is an issue that has become more pressing as the debate about multiculturalism and the ghettoisation of many ethnic and religious groups, particularly Muslims, has grown. The Ousley Report, which followed the riots in Bradford and other northern towns, highlighted the separation of white and Muslim communities in Bradford who live side by side but rarely mix, and view each other with mutual suspicion.
Most policy proposals have avoided any call for compulsion or obligation in their schemes, although they recognise the single most damaging flaw in current volunteering strategies: existing developments provide more for those young people who are already making successful transitions to adult life, leaving those at the margins less likely to take up such opportunities and feeling cynical about their value and their purpose. To be brutally frank, too many of those spending time with organisations such as VSO, are white, middle class and well-educated, and already possess broad horizons and exciting futures.
If all young adults were obliged to undertake formal work (and training) experience then perhaps some of those who have already fallen through the safety net would have a second chance, and everybody’s horizons would be broadened. Would it not be in everyone’s interests for, say, Eton College leavers to undertake community work in south Manchester, and youths from Burnley to work on projects in the developing world?
The idea of compulsion – in almost any area – arouses vehement opposition in sections of the left. The idea that we send inappropriately qualified young people off to the developing world, for example, cuts against the thrust of international development objectives. Some trades unions are also concerned that National Community Service would simply be a source of cheap labour that would reduce wages and even cost jobs. However, with the possibility of gaining nationally recognised qualifications, it would be more appropriate to regard National Community Service as a more integrated and modern version of traditional apprenticeship schemes.
Compulsion would merely be a logical extension to many existing policy proposals, with the simple proviso that everybody takes part and shares the benefits. Indeed, a National Community Service programme will only prove to be effective if it is compulsory. Even in voluntary programmes there are mandatory elements, such as staying sober and showing up for work on time.
Within a compulsory framework, there should be a wide element of choice. Over a number of years, say from 14 to 21, young people would be required to engage both in community service and to engage in activities of benefit to themselves. Indeed, the choices would often permit, and even encourage, the blending of both. One scenario would offer three broad options of where to spend your National Community Service year, either based in the local area, elsewhere in the UK or overseas. Placements would, in part, depend on the individual’s circumstances. A range of options would also be offered in terms of the type of service undertaken, both according to national priorities, but also taking into account individual strengths and preferences.
For example, it might become possible for a young person keen on improving languages, or wanting to become a nurse, to work in a care home in, say, Germany. There are an enormous number of EU schemes that encourage people to undertake educational and training opportunities in other Member States. The European dimension would be part of the package – we might finally see a Europeanisation of British attitudes and values as a result.
Closer to home, options could include helping at schools for children with special needs and spending time refining musical interests in a recording studio, or for aspiring doctors to spend their time engaged in community health projects. The point would be for young people to both do something for others and develop their own interests and ambitions.
For talented individuals, in any role, there should also be the possibility of extending the period of service, in more advanced or demanding roles. We must also be honest. Equality of opportunity does not mean that everybody must do exactly the same thing. Some young people are more talented, mature, focused or determined than others, and so may be more suitable to be placed in more challenging roles. But at least compulsory service would offer genuine opportunities for everyone. Surely the opportunities of training, practical qualifications and chances to travel either in the UK or elsewhere more than justify an obligation to “serve” the community?
None of these ideas are new – the late Tony Banks tabled proposals in Parliament for a similar scheme in April 2003. He was always ahead of his time.
The objective of compulsory National Community Service must be to offer opportunity for the many – hopefully even all – not the few, but they need to be drawn together into an overarching vision of what National Community Service is for. The Left must remember the maxim, “from each according to his abilities…”, and seize the agenda. National Community Service could be the big idea the Labour government so desperately needs.