Parents could be fined if their children refuse to do National Service, a minister has suggested.
Rishi Sunak made the first major policy announcement of the general election campaign on Sunday, as he pledged to bring back the scheme for 18-year-olds.
He said this would entail either a year on a military placement or spending one weekend of each month volunteering.
Asked on Times Radio whether parents would face prosecution if their 18-year-olds refuse to sign up, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a Foreign Office minister, said: “I’m not going to write the detailed policy now. That’s what a royal commission programme of works will be for.”
In an interview with Sky News, Ms Trevelyan also implied that while there would be no criminal sanction for those who did not take part in the scheme, it could dent their chances of employment in the future.
“Employers would be clear that they would look to see what you had done. This would become part of the normal toolkit that young people would present as they go through their careers. And I think that’s exciting, so many young people would have the opportunity to do more.”
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