The gap year and the Government

1998 - 2000

Attempts from Founders Tom and Peter to get interest from either Secretary of State for Education David Blunkett or Kim Howells MP (Under-Secretary of State) in the growing ‘Gap Year’ option at 18 and its potential relevance to / impact on the development of young people failed time and again. DfES had little interest in ‘Gap Years’, focusing all their attention on their newly launched Millennium Volunteers Programme. Their only association with the Gap Year industry was to support the newly formed Year Out Group, a trade group charged with the task of self-regulating the Gap Year Placements sector. The DfES couldn’t get beyond gap years being a hobby for the wealthy few.

2001

Ever persistent, Tom tried again. He set up a meeting with Joy Danby from the DfES, determined to put the ‘Gap Year’ on the wider agenda within Government. A productive meeting he opened her eyes to the benefits of a gap year to young individuals and pointed out the significance of the growth of the gap year option over the next few years in the UK. To the credit of Joy and the benefit of the industry she requested a discussion document from Tom and Peter which she presented to Ivan Lewis MP.

2001

Tom Griffiths and Peter Pedrick met with Ivan Lewis MP, Under-Secretary of State for Education. A Minister with a background in the Volunteering industry who had the foresight to understand that the Government needed to embrace what was happening in the UK Gap Year industry, it was a great meeting. Millennium Volunteers was becoming dated and had a shelf life [due to the name ‘Millennium’ in the title] and Ivan, who saw the benefits to young people of volunteering and life experiences at an early age, was keen to bring it into the Government agenda. The Social Market Foundation was instructed to look into this further.

2002

January; Social Market Foundation recommendation to Ivan Lewis MP to pilot a ‘Gap Year’ scheme following the USCorp model

April; Tom and Peter were requested by Ivan Lewis to submit an advisory paper about the Gap Year Industry and its future - 'Options @ 18: The new national service?'. Ivan liked the ‘sexier’ appeal of ‘Gap Year’ and started to put the wheels in motion. Breakthrough: the ‘Gap Year’ appeared on the Government Agenda.

2003; Pilot launched

Government [Gordon Brown, Ivan Lewis, David Blunkett] launched the Young Volunteer Challenge in England and Wales, a £5 million pilot scheme trialed in nine locations. The scheme offered young people from low income families the opportunity to undertake gap year voluntary work in community projects in exchange for a weekly allowance of £45, and a lump sum of £750 on completion of a nine month placement. The scheme aimed to target 1200 young people. A similar scheme, Scotcorp, was launched in Scotland.

2004

Monday May 17, 2004: 'Government unveils youth volunteering commission'
[Headline: Guardian]

The home secretary, David Blunkett, and the chancellor, Gordon Brown, launched The Russell Commission, a commission set to draw up plans for a national community service scheme for young people.

2005

Monday December 5, 2005: Gordon Brown’s Gap Year Volunteering Scheme launched
'Following the Russell Commission I set up two years ago, the new gap year and volunteering scheme, youth national community service will be launched in May - with 26 company partners, a budget of up to £150 million and a target of 1 million youth volunteers. It will also be backed by youth community service on environmental projects, which will be financed by an expansion of the landfill tax credit scheme'.

Full text Gordon Brown's Budget speech >>