Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that deaf young people who are reliant on communication support such as sign language interpreters are able to access the National Citizens Service.

Mr Rob Wilson

The Government is committed to ensuring that there is a place on National Citizen Service (NCS) for every young person who wants one. The Cabinet Office is working closely with NCS Trust, the independent organisation which delivers NCS, to ensure that NCS is accessible, including to those with physical and sensory disabilities.

Many NCS providers already reach out and offer support to those with disabilities, including deaf young people. The largest provider, The Challenge, has worked with the National Deaf Children’s Society, and adapted the programme for deaf young people, including providing dedicated support workers.

The NCS Trust is currently developing a detailed inclusion strategy to ensure that over the longer term there is consistent and high quality provision for young people with disabilities to take part in the programme.