News releases

Working group publishes code of practice for volunteers

Thursday, 17 May 2012

Red-tape-for-web Following the May 2011 publication of Unshackling Good Neighbours - the report of the red tape taskforce chaired by Lord Hodgson that considered how to cut red tape for small charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises - Volunteering England and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) convened a working group of the voluntary & community sector and the insurance industry.

Loss of core funding threatens Volunteer Centre network

Wednesday, 02 May 2012

vc rgb 100 Volunteering England warns that the recent loss of core local authority funding to several Volunteer Centres will lead to the fragmentation of the Volunteer Centre network and undermine the vital support they provide to the local community.

2012 could be the year of the volunteer – but investment is key

Friday, 20 April 2012

As ivo goes live today our Chief Executive, Justin Davis Smith CBE, wrote this article highlighting the importance of volunteering and the challenges it currently faces.

Every year, over 20 million people across England and the UK volunteer, donating more than 100 million hours to their communities every week. It has been estimated that the economic value of this activity is worth in excess of £40 billion to our economy.

So on 1-7 June, Volunteering England, individuals and organisations up and down the country will hold events to celebrate that contribution during Volunteers’ Week. We also hope it will inspire even more to take an active role in their communities.

Strategic partners publish guide to avoiding job substitution

Wednesday, 18 April 2012

Membership benefits Volunteering England has today published a guide to help organisations address the issue of job substitution, Download file type: PDF, size: 435.6Kb (435.6Kb) particularly when facing cuts in funding for services, in partnership with Locality, NAVCA and NCVO.

As the budgets of many organisations in the voluntary and public sectors are cut, the issue of job substitution – when volunteers replace paid staff – has become critical. This guide is to help organisations ensure they do not substitute paid staff posts with volunteers.

Member satisfaction poll results

Tuesday, 03 April 2012

blog policy A poll of Volunteering England’s members was conducted over three weeks in March 2012. It was publicised via the website, page on Facebook and Twitter feed. It was also sent via the Volunteer Centre Manager's Google group.

Volunteer Centres continue to excel despite significant decline in local authority funding

Monday, 02 April 2012

vc rgb 100 Volunteer Centres continue to excel in supporting volunteers and tackling pressing social issues despite a sharp decline in funding from local government.

The Annual Return for Volunteer Centres, conducted by the Institute for Volunteering Research at Volunteering England, found that funding from local government across the network declined on average by 12 per cent between 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Volunteering England welcomes Public Services (Social Value) Bill

Monday, 05 March 2012

currentissues policy Volunteering England has welcomed the passing of the Public Services (Social Value) Bill through Parliament, which will require public authorities to consider economic, social and environmental impact when commissioning and procuring services.

This is a crucial development for the thousands of organisations across the country that involve volunteers. In particular, this could be a game-changer for small organisations that find it difficult to compete with large contractors despite their local knowledge.

Justin Davis Smith addresses London Funders

Monday, 05 March 2012

Justin Davis Smith08 On 2 March, Volunteering England Chief Executive Justin Davis Smith addressed London Funders on the reality of supporting organisations that involve volunteers in the current policy and funding climate.

As well as highlighting the value of volunteering, the organisations that involve them and the bodies that support them to do so, Justin urged funders to think about what more could be done to encourage greater collaboration between volunteering support agencies.

Winner of Matt Spencer Award announced

Friday, 24 February 2012

Nathan Higham University of Southampton medical student Nathan Highton has been named as the winner of the Matt Spencer Award 2012.

The award is celebrated during Student Volunteering Week (20 to 26 February) in recognition of a truly inspiring student volunteer. SV Week is delivered by Volunteering England and sponsored by Santander.

The award was set up in memory of Matt Spencer to recognise the work of outstanding student volunteers. Matt epitomised student volunteering - he cared deeply about people, the exploitation and oppression they face, and he passionately challenged it with his lateral approach.

Volunteering England and Forestry Commission sign joint commitment

Friday, 03 February 2012

Forestry-Commission-England Volunteering England and the Forestry Commission have demonstrated their commitment to working together by signing a memorandum of understanding.

Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter

Friday, 03 February 2012

news policy We're introducing a new quarterly newsletter for non-members. It will contain information about our work and the latest developments in the world of volunteering.

Members receive a newsletter every fortnight that contains priority information about exclusive events, access to resources, opportunities to be involved in the development of Volunteering England's work and more. If you're interested, find out more about becoming a member of Volunteering England and feel free to contact us.

Sector leaders oppose charging volunteers for portable criminal records checks

Friday, 23 December 2011

23^rd December 2011

We are calling on the Government to affirm its commitment to volunteering by making portable Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks free to volunteers.

Whilst the Government has confirmed that CRB checks themselves will remain free for volunteers, a decision has yet to be made about the cost of the online system that will ensure volunteers will not have to be checked every time they begin a new role.

Volunteering England update: October – December 2011

Thursday, 15 December 2011

VE quarterly update

This is the third edition of our quarterly update, providing you with information about our work and how you can get involved. It includes:

Highlights from the last quarter of 2011.
New developments.
Progress with projects and policy work.
Looking back on 2011.

As always, feel free to contact us via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

- veupdate October – December 2011 Download file type: PDF, size: 1.5Mb (1.5Mb) (PDF)

New faces join Volunteering England board

Friday, 11 November 2011

Volunteering England welcomes five new trustees following its 2011 AGM. The votes have now been counted and we are pleased to announce our new member-trustees as:

Work Programme providers should pay voluntary organisations for their services

Tuesday, 08 November 2011

Minister for Employment, Chris Grayling MP, has confirmed that Work Programme providers should enter into contractual relationships with voluntary organisations if they wish to access their services.

Volunteering England responds to reports of plans to collaborate with other sector bodies

Thursday, 20 October 2011

Sukhvinder Kaur Stubbs

Statement by Sukhvinder Kaur Stubbs, Chair of Trustees for Volunteering England, in response to the story in Third Sector (20 October) on collaboration between volunteering bodies.

Challenge to support volunteers for NGOs and government

Tuesday, 06 September 2011

Non-governmental organisations “need to face up to the challenges of sustaining the strength of the voluntary spirit in our societies”, Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England, told a UN conference on Monday (5 September).

Motor insurers promise not to charge volunteer drivers a premium

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

After months of negotiation between Volunteering England, the Community Transport Association and the Association of British Insurers, over 50 car insurance providers have confirmed that they do not charge extra for volunteer driving.

Letter to the Prime Minister offering help in the wake of the recent riots

Friday, 12 August 2011

"Volunteering England welcomes the broad proposals to revise the safeguarding systems announced as part of the Freedom Bill. The portability of criminal records checks will be widely seen as helpful by volunteers and volunteering organisations. The lower level of involvement for people and roles will also reduce a significant barrier to volunteering."

£1.9 million boost for volunteering in recession-hit communities

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

Volunteering England, in partnership with 15 local Volunteer Centres, has today been awarded a £1.9m Big Lottery Fund grant over three years to help communities most affected by the recession through stimulating volunteering.

The community response to the riots deserves to be celebrated

Tuesday, 09 August 2011

This morning thousands of people across the UK have come together to clean up their cities following three days of civil unrest.

Volunteering England welcomes new local infrastructure fund

Friday, 15 July 2011

The Transforming Local Infrastructure programme implements the Government’s proposal in the Giving White Paper and is administered by Big Fund. The programme is making £30 million available for an 18 month period to provide better support for frontline civil society organisations by rationalising and transforming local infrastructure services.

Award of CBE in Queen's Birthday Honours for Dr Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England

Monday, 13 June 2011

The Board of Volunteering England is delighted with the news. Chair of Volunteering England, Sukhvinder Kaur-Stubbs, stated:

“On behalf of the Board of Volunteering England, I extend my congratulations to Justin for this honour. It is well deserved and a powerful endorsement of the respect he commands, the efforts of his team and the value of volunteering. The honour reflects the significant role that Volunteering England has played in promoting voluntary action and recognises Justin's influence in shaping the new agenda.”

Volunteering England responds to Mr Christopher Chope’s Private Member’s Bill

Friday, 10 June 2011

The Volunteer Rights Inquiry, set up in November 2009, today launches its Call to Action, the ‘3R Promise,’ asking organisations to commit to ‘getting it right’, ‘achieving reconciliation’ and ‘accepting responsibility’ in resolving matters of conflict with volunteers.

Volunteering England welcomes White Paper on Giving

Monday, 23 May 2011

Welcome for Lord Hodgson’s Task Force report on cutting red tape

Wednesday, 18 May 2011

Volunteering England has welcomed the report of Lord Hodgson’s Independent Task Force established to propose how to cut red tape for small charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprise.

Response to report of retired police officers in West Midlands being asked to return to the service as volunteer special constables

Thursday, 05 May 2011

A book launch and celebration event at the London School of Economics (LSE) will today mark the official deposit of the Volunteering England Collection. This new archive documents the modern history of volunteering in England.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch sponsors Volunteers’ Week 2011

Thursday, 21 April 2011

Volunteering England is delighted to announce Bank of America Merrill Lynch as official sponsor of Volunteers’ Week 2011.

New Volunteering England archive documents the history of volunteering in England

Monday, 18 April 2011

Budget result for volunteer drivers

Wednesday, 23 March 2011

Budget 2011 included an increase in the approved mileage rate and the extension of the passenger allowance to volunteers.

Announcement of Office for Civil Society Strategic Partners

Tuesday, 22 March 2011

On 22 March, the Office for Civil Society named Volunteering England as one of nine strategic partners and set out its funding as £500,000 for 2011012, three-quarters of that (£375,000) for 2012-13 and half of that (£250,000) for 2013-14.

Volunteer Rights Inquiry calls on organisations to raise standards of volunteer management

Wednesday, 02 March 2011

Employee volunteering and the Civil Service

Monday, 21 February 2011

Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England, welcomed the announcement from the Cabinet Office that the Civil Service has committed to giving 30,000 volunteering days a year, with each civil servant encouraged to do at least one day to volunteering.

Freedom Bill announcement on safeguarding

Friday, 11 February 2011

Local spending cuts threaten volunteering movement

Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Local public spending cuts are threatening to undermine the volunteering movement, warns Volunteering England Chief Executive Dr Justin Davis Smith.

- Also check out our 2010/2011 Annual Review Download file type: PDF, size: 3.9Mb (3.9Mb)

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