For immediate release
Tuesday 8 August 2006
The Department of Work and Pensions has made an unexpected u-turn with its announcement that volunteers on benefits will no longer have to bear the cost of their lunchtime meal.
The announcement comes after mounting pressure from Volunteering England’s “Right to Reasonable Expenses” lunch campaign, and follows news that the organisation was due to launch a protest week on 14 August.
Justin Davis-Smith, deputy chief executive of Volunteering England, the national development agency for volunteers, said:
“This is great news as it lifts a barrier to the two million volunteers on benefits who were affected by the guidance. We’re delighted that the DWP has listened to the views of so many in the volunteering movement and reverted to its original position which supports the Government’s aim of opening up access to volunteering to disadvantaged groups.
”I would like to thank all the volunteer-involving organisations, volunteer centres and individual volunteers who supported our campaign and were prepared to speak out against these discriminatory new rules. The response we received from our members and their networks was overwhelmingly positive and shows how a coordinated effort can create very powerful results.”
The withdrawn guidance represented a new interpretation of the rules and a departure from long-established custom and practice. This led to salaried workers being allowed to claim back expenses for a lunch bought during volunteering, but which prevented someone on benefits with the same commitment to the cause from receiving a penny.
Sylvie Montgomery was faced with the difficult decision of whether to ignore the guidance and risk losing her benefits, or to comply and put herself in an even more precarious financial situation. She said:
“I’m really pleased that the DWP has realised just how much their new guidance would affect volunteers on benefits. I volunteer for two days a week at Off the Streets and into Work (OSW), a charity that helps homeless people learn vital work skills. I get £95 a week incapacity benefit, and a sandwich costs £3.50 to buy. If I were to eat at home, it would only cost 75p. It’s a large proportion of my disposable income, and it’s not as if I’m trying to make money from volunteering.
“I've volunteered on other projects before and always received lunch expenses, and I had been planning to ignore the guidelines and continue accepting them. I wouldn't have been able to afford to volunteer otherwise, and I know plenty of other people in the same position who had to ignore the guidelines too because to do otherwise would put an end to their volunteering - and the skills they gain that could help them find work.”
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Notes to Editors
Volunteering England’s aims are to increase the quality, quantity, contribution and accessibility of volunteering throughout England; secure and support an England-wide network of quality volunteer development agencies, promoting and enabling volunteering and community involvement; undertake research, policy and development activity; and provide grants, support and advice to sustain and develop volunteering. It understands the term volunteering to include formal activity undertaken through public, private and voluntary organisations as well as informal community participation.
