UK government mulls new `teenage call-up' program

Plans for every young person in Britain to enroll in a national volunteering scheme that could become compulsory are at the center of a government report into improving social cohesion.

The possibility of mandatory community service is put forward today by Darra Singh, chair of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion, the body created by British Prime Minister Tony Blair after the July 7, 2005, bombings to promote more unity. It echoes the concept of National Service, which ended in 1960, that required all men between the ages of 18 and 26 to serve in the military for up to two years.

In an article in yesterday's Observer newspaper, Singh suggested that children taking GCSEs in citizenship should be asked to a special town hall ceremony after passing the exam, to instill in them the sense of what it is to be part of Britain. He also suggests that, along with learning about Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and former South African president Nelson Mandela, children must have a chance to find out how former prime ministers Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George and suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst shaped history.

Singh, 47, the chief executive of Ealing council in London, argues today that the benefits of volunteering are great, "bringing together young people from different backgrounds to work together towards a common goal."

"We need to have a debate about the possibility of a national community service -- and we should not be afraid of asking whether this should be compulsory," he said.

But some campaigners are set against any idea of enforcement.

Terry Ryall, the chief executive of the youth volunteer charity "v", said: "What we are working towards is making volunteering appealing rather than compulsory. A lot of young people are passionately committed to causes such as the Third World, or global warming, but are not sure about how to become involved. Making it coercive is not the answer."

The issue of how to make society more cohesive in the face of threats from Islamic extremism and the British National Party has risen to the top of the political agenda in recent weeks.

The themes of promoting Britishness have already been enthusiastically embraced by both the ruling Labour party and the opposition Tories.

The report, to be published by the commission on Thursday, shows that contrary to popular belief nearly 80 percent of people feel groups from different backgrounds get on well in their area.