Kevin Curley, chief executive of Navca, has asked MPs whether  the government’s new volunteering scheme National Citizen Service is justified alongside the loss of support for volunteering at local levels.

Curley was speaking at a Public Administration Select Committee on the Big Society, where he was asked by MPs to give examples of cuts to the charity sector.

Curley said that all local authority support for youth volunteering in areas such as Liverpool and Swindon had ended: “Putting this alongside the cost of National Citizen Service, does it justify all the pain of the loss of support for volunteering at a local level?” he asked.

He added: “There is a mismatch between the attractive rhetoric of the Big Society and the reality of what’s happening with local authorities withdrawing support.”

Last year, over half of Navca members expressed uncertainty about National Citizen Service.

The government has dedicated £13m for the scheme in 2011, and £37m in 2012, aiming for 10,000 participants this summer and 30,000 next year.