Kent County Council is pulling its support for running the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme in schools across the county.

The authority’s involvement will be phased out by the autumn as part of another cost-cutting move to save the cash-strapped council money.

The local authority says this has to be done amid its ongoing financial struggles.

It is seeking to save nearly £1 million in the upcoming year’s budget spend.

A KCC spokesman told KentOnline: “In light of the rising cost of and demand for statutory public services, we have had to make difficult decisions about how we spend Kent council tax-payer money.

“Therefore we will not be reapplying for the licences that enable us to deliver the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award from August and October.”

The youth awards programme promotes independence, building life skills and learning new abilities, socialising and becoming a valued member in the community through volunteering, expeditions and activities.

KCC is the registered Licensed Organisation in Kent and offers the scheme to many schools and voluntary and community organisations.

It oversees the leaders helping participants choose their activities, set their objectives and achieve their award.

The council holds two licenses to run the scheme.

One licence allows it to run expeditions and the overall award on behalf of mainstream schools.

The other enables young people in SEN (special educational needs) schools, colleges and voluntary organisations to participate in the programme directly through the council.

The local authority says it has written to affected groups to explain its decision but will support the programme until the end of August.

It will also honour expeditions already booked until the end of October.

‘We will not be reapplying for the licences that enable us to deliver the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award…’

The spokesman added: “We are working with the national Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Charity to make sure that those who have applied this year can be signposted to the many alternative providers in the county, such as uniformed organisations and voluntary groups.

“Schools can also apply for their own licence to run the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme for their students.

“Our Family Hub network will continue to signpost students wanting to take part in the award to find their nearest local provider.”

The cash-strapped council passed its budget for 2024/25 in February but had to balance the books and impose a 5% council tax increase.

But KCC is having to make sweeping savings such as through a workforce review, cost cuts to services such as the community wardens and phasing out funding for youth services.

Savings of £988,000 are aimed for by 2025-26.

In March 2020, Prince Edward, the current Duke of Edinburgh, met winners from 11 schools at Christ Church Academy in Whitfield, near Dover.

The scheme was founded by Edward’s father Prince Philip in 1956 when he had the title and last year more than 330,000 people aged 14 to 24 started on the scheme across Britain.

When Prince Philip died in April 2021, Edward took over the dukedom and title his father previously held in March 2023.