Volunteering England is the integrated national volunteering development organisation for England. We work across the private, public and third sectors to raise the impact of volunteering as a powerful force for change. In particular, we are working to improve the capacity of the volunteering infrastructure. We are the accountable body for the Volunteering Hub and accredit and brand the network of local volunteer centres. We are a strategic partner of the Cabinet Office (Office of the Third Sector). Volunteering England welcomes the acknowledgement in this plan of 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. Strengthening volunteering and the capacity of organisations to involve and manage volunteers will need to be a crucial element of the Third Sector Plan. It will be important for the final Third Sector Action Plan to explicitly state the actions to be implemented from the Volunteering Strategy.
Volunteering sits well in the ‘strengthening communities’ theme; however it has considerable overlap in the other sections, especially ‘transforming public services’. While this has been acknowledged, it would benefit from further emphasis, and volunteering could feature as a distinct part of the other areas.
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. In the plan there is some vagueness and lack of clarity in how small organisations will be supported. Point 1.11, for example, states that sub-contracting and consortia building will be considered where appropriate but Volunteering England would like to see consortia building being ‘encouraged’ rather than simply ‘considered’.
As recommended in the NOMS draft volunteering strategy, volunteering should be recognised as a key part of the commissioning process. This should be highlighted in the actions under 3.5.
The Office of the Third Sector and voluntary sector infrastructure bodies will need to be a key partner in the delivery of this action plan rather than being kept ‘informed’ as stated in 1.15
The plan makes little reference to victims and the role that the Third Sector plays in helping to support victims and witnesses of crime, their friends and families.
It is questionable whether the distinction between mentoring and volunteering made in the action plan is useful. Volunteering and unpaid mentoring should not be seen as separate from one another. It is unclear whether the action point ‘increase mentoring’ is referring to unpaid mentoring (volunteering) or paid mentoring.
In many places this document fails to bring together prisons and probation work, discussing them in many contexts as separate. It is important that the plan does not let the work of third sector organisations ‘fall down this gap’ and that partnership working between organisations working in prison and probation environments are encouraged.
The suggestion for local demonstration projects under 2.8 is valuable and could include projects with small organisations working to reduce re-offending and successful consortia bids as examples of how barriers can be overcome.
1.3 identifies ‘encouraging social enterprise’ as one of the drivers but there is no detail in the document on the role they could play or the value they could bring.
The independence of the Third Sector needs to be recognised and respected. While partnerships and consortia will be developed as part of commissioning, and the Third Sector may be heavily involved in the delivery of public services, it is important that the ability of organisations to campaign is not affected.
In places the document fails to communicate the need for meaningful and effective engagement of the Third Sector. Section 3.5: table two, for example, identified the need to ‘make use of the local community anchor organisations’ which suggests more of a one-sided relationship.
