Volunteering England’s recent policy responses
Watching brief
Volunteering England’s recent policy responses
Citizenship: Our Common Bond
Published in March as part of the changes proposed in the 'Governance of Britain' green paper (July 07). The review covers many issues linked to volunteering specifically under sections ‘Enhancing the bond of citizenship’ and ‘Involving Newcomers’.
Office of the Third Sector response to Commission on Future of Volunteering
On 7th February the OTS issued a response broadly welcoming the Commission recommendations. Volunteering England welcomes the Government response including its recognition of its leadership role. However Volunteering England was very concerned that the OTS did not agree to the Commission’s call for a £5 million matched fund for the strategic development and modernisation of volunteering infrastructure.
Defra Third Sector Strategy consultation
Within the consultation document Defra announced their forthcoming internal Corporate Social Responsibility and Wellbeing Strategy, which will include reference to employer-supported volunteering by Defra staff. Responses will inform Defra’s Third Sector Strategy, to be published in Spring 2008. VE supports DEFRA’s intention of working within the Compact and makes other suggestions about the way in which DEFRA view volunteering.
Ministry of Justice Third Sector Strategy consultation
The Ministry of Justice consultation paper is intended to inform its strategy for partnership work with the Voluntary Sector.
Volunteers and volunteering are explicitly referred to throughout the document, in both case studies and the aims that the Ministry has set out.
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS), “Securing effective partnerships to reduce re-offending and protect the public 2008 – 2011
The plan acknowledged the important role of volunteering in supporting the work of the Third Sector in reducing re-offending and protecting the public, in particular the identified actions to implement the NOMS volunteering strategy. A key area of concern in the sector is the impact of changes in the commissioning process on small organisations, many of which involve volunteers in delivering and supporting key activities and services to offenders and victims.
Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) consultation
The scheme aims to protect both children and vulnerable adults by preventing those who are known to pose a risk of harm accessing these groups through their work.
The scheme includes recognition of volunteers and proposes that volunteers who should be checked is determined by role rather than employment status and that volunteers do not pay to enter the scheme, if they are only going to volunteer. The scheme also creates new responsibilities for employers and volunteer involving organisations, some of which will lead to an offence if the organisation does not meet these responsibilities. There are a number of areas where Volunteering England feels there is a need for further guidance / information for volunteer involving organisations, in the public, private and voluntary and community sector.
Multi-agency consultation on the proposed Comprehensive Area Assessment for local government
The CAA proposes providing people with an assessment of their local public services and the prospects for their quality of life in the future. However, the document does not explicitly refer to volunteers and it is unclear how volunteering is understood by the consulting bodies.
Department of Health funding review
The Department of Health is to review its funding of the Voluntary Sector. The review covers everything from the main funding streams (Section 64 and Opportunities for Volunteering) to procurement contracts and small grants.
Watching brief
Home Office (Border and Immigration Agency) The Path to citizenship: Next steps to reforming the immigration system consultation
The most relevant part of the consultation is the section on Active Citizenship. It proposes that immigrants demonstrate a commitment to Britain by participating in community work as part of the ‘citizenship journey’ and includes voluntary work as an example of active citizenship including;
- Volunteering with a recognised organisation
- Employer supported volunteering
- Volunteering for short periods overseas
- Running or helping to run a playgroup
- Fundraising activities for charities or schools
- Serving on community bodies i.e. school governor
- Running or helping to run a local sporting team
The consultation ends on 14 May 2008
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) Childcare Expenses and the minimum wage
VE has been working with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) on their stance on childcare expenses for volunteers. Under current legislation voluntary workers are only entitled to claim back expenses incurred while performing their duties. In printing the results of their consultation on the minimum wage and voluntary workers they had not explained that volunteers are a separate group from voluntary workers and had separated childcare expenses out from other out of pocket expenses as a ‘significant benefit in kind’ that would change the relationship between the individual and their organisation.
Following discussions with VE, The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has since tabled an amendment volunteer worker expenses at the committee stage of the Employment Bill (13th February). If passed, the amendment will clarify that voluntary workers are entitled to claim reimbursement for expenses such as the cost of travel to and from work and childcare or carer expenses.
DCLG Local Area Agreements
A two part series of guidance on negotiating new local area agreements has been released by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Review of volunteering in the public services
The Government’s independent volunteering champion has published a report entitled, Volunteering in the Public Services: Health and Social Care. The report, written by Baroness Neuberger, is the first in a series examining the role of volunteers in public services. It found much potential to expand volunteering in health and social care to create more people-centered services, and a better understanding of service users.
Train to Gain
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has announced that the Train to Gain scheme has been extended to include support for the training of volunteers. The scheme was set up to provide impartial training and skills development advice and brokerage for small employers. Organisations must be careful to ensure that any training they provide volunteers is to enable them to carry out their roles. Training offered as a perk or incentive could be seen as a form of payment in return for the contribution volunteers make.
DfCSF - £13 million programme of pensions benefits for public sector volunteers
In March the Government announced that Public Service workers who volunteer with the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) and similar organisations to work in developing countries currently do not get pension contributions paid. Under a three year pilot scheme the Government will fund these gaps without cost to the individual employer or employee.
DfID Platform 2 Youth overseas volunteering scheme
In February a new Government-backed global volunteering scheme for 18- to 25-year-olds, Platform2, was announced which aims over the next three years to sponsor 2,500 young adults to do voluntary work in a developing country and raise awareness of development issues in the UK. The £10 million scheme is backed by the Department for International Development (DFID) and will be run in partnership by Christian Aid, Islamic Relief and BUNAC.
Informal Adult Learning – Shaping the Way Ahead
The consultation report recognises that Sport is predominantly run by volunteers who support over 100,000 sports clubs not including those volunteers who contribute to sport within another community association setting. It describes how Volunteers and clubs require skills to carry out their roles, not all of which require a formal qualification, but enable individuals to acquire new skills for personal development. The consultation aims to identify where government support could improve the quality of sport volunteers and clubs through informal learning opportunities. The consultation ends of 15 May 2008
Your feedback
If you have any ideas or thoughts about the issues covered in this update please email your comments to policy@volunteeringengland.org
Many thanks
Policy and Information Team
Volunteering England
