Team Britannia - helping the Youth of today earn respect tomorrow

In general, there are 3 groups of youngsters in British society today: Those who manage to gain entry to further and higher education Those who manage to gain useful employment Those who, for whatever reason, have neither. College and University students have lecturers, student welfare teams and fellow students to support them. Young workers have bosses/line managers, fellow colleagues and work ethics in their workplace to support them. Those who do not study or work have no support network to speak of. This must change if this country is to survive! We the undersigned, are calling for a public debate and referendum on the issue of introducing compulsory national/civil service for youngsters aged 16 to 21 in the United Kingdom. We propose the following: 1. Young people aged between 16 and 21 years who are not enrolled in full time further or higher education programmes or full or part time employment, or confirmed candidates for programmes such as GAP or CSV, will be required by law to serve their country for a period of 1 to 2 years. 2. Candidates will be given choices about the form their Civil service takes: A. A period of 1 year non-combative duty with the armed forces (active duty would be entirely voluntary and considered carefully by senior officers), or 2 years with the Territorial Army B. A period of 1 year non-active duty with the emergency services (active duty would be entirely voluntary and carefully considered by senior officers) C. A period of 1 or 2 years community service either served over seas with aide organisations (1 year), or at home in the United Kingdom (2 years) 3. Candidates would receive £30.00 per week pocket money, and help towards food and board if living at home whilst in service. If candidates are posted away from home whilst in service, food and board would be provided by the scheme. Whilst it might appear that a scheme like this would prove too costly to instigate, the reality is that the government would in fact make substantial savings in the long term as candidates could take on responsibilities no longer being covered due to job cuts, would not be in receipt of DWP benefits and would allow the government and local authorities to continue to offer services in danger of being axed due to cuts. For example, candidates who choose Civil service instead of military service may work with youth groups, with disabled children or on conservation projects around the UK. It is time to help the disaffected youth of today win a place on Team Britannia tomorrow.