The Prime Minister would lay out details of his vision for a "national citizen service" where teenagers in the country would be invited to take part in a two month summer residential course begining next year.

 

Mr. Cameron is expected to announce that as an integral part of his big society vision around 10,000 16 year olds would be taking part in pilot schemes in 2011.  Teenagers would be put in mixed groups to increase interaction among different social, ethnice and geographically diverse groups.

The Prime Minister believes this scheme would promote greater social cohesion in the country.

"A kind of non-military national service, it is going to mix young people from different backgrounds in a way that does not happen now," Mr. Cameron is expected to say.

"It is going to teach them what it means to be socially responsible. Above all, it is going to inspire a generation of young people to appreciate what they can achieve and how they can be part of the 'big society'."

While the new scheme would be voluntary, the Government hopes that in time all 16 year olds in the country would take part.

The idea was formulated while the Conservative Party was still in opposition and the party had organised some pilot programmes in London, Wales and the North West of England. It is estimated that the 2011 pilot projects would cost around £13 million and it would come from the DCLG.

The opposition Labour party is not critical of the programme itself but has argued that the government is asking the voluntary sector to take up the responsibilities ditched by the Government due to the massive cuts imposed upon departments.