West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin this week welcomed news that county young people will be able to take part in the National Citizen Service. The initiative is a scheme for 16 year olds which brings together people from different backgrounds in the summer after completing their GCSEs. As well as doing team–building and outdoor activities, participants spend 30 hours helping to improve their own communities. The initiative is being extended across the whole of the country this year with 120 places being made available in Worcestershire. Up to 30,000 places are being made available this summer and 90,000 next year. Harriet commented: “Lots of my older constituents have asked if we could bring back National Service for young people. “The National Citizen Service is an important initiative to help offer young people from different backgrounds the chance to improve their soft skills and to contribute to their communities. “The trials have been extremely successful and I hope they will grow further in due course. “I am also keen that some of our outdoor activity centres are used in this initiative and I encourage National Citizenship providers to consider using them.”