MP Raises Work of Swansea Volunteers - 2nd Feb, 2007

The Swansea East MP raised volunteering with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the House of Commons

Sian asked the Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster, Rt. Hon. Hilary Armstrong MP, what steps the UK Government is taking to promote volunteering. Hilary Armstrong is responsible for Social Exclusion within the UK Government. Mrs James wants the UK Government to look at examples of good practice in Wales, when deciding funding and policy for England.

Mrs James MP said:

"Asking a question to Hilary Armstrong gave me the opportunity to raise the excellent work of Swansea Council for Voluntary Service's development project for 14 to 19-year-olds. The project raises awareness about volunteering for young people and provides new opportunities for them, which is much appreciated by the people they work with.

"I asked the Minister to congratulate SCVS on its work and ensure that such good practice from Wales is emulated in England and that the UK Government continues to ensure that volunteering receives Government funding."

Hilary Armstrong MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said:

"Since 2002 the Government have set a target to increase levels of volunteering, including most recently to increase substantively levels of volunteering by communities at particular risk of marginalisation. I am happy to welcome the reports from Swansea that [they are] working hard to improve opportunities for volunteering. That is happening across the country.

"I welcome local government's recognition that encouraging young people in particular to volunteer is an important way for them to improve their self-esteem, engage effectively with other people, and build skills and confidence that will serve them well in years to come."

Amanda Carr, Training and Volunteering Services Development Manager, Swansea Council for Voluntary Service (SCVS) said:-

"In 2005/6 SCVS received support from the Swansea 14 to 19 Network and the Youth Service to undertake a project to build the capacity of the voluntary and community sector to engage with the 14 to 19 agenda and to develop opportunities for young people to engage in voluntary and community based activity.

"The project enabled SCVS to support organisations to identify and overcome the barriers to young people's involvement in voluntary activity.

"The project also involved running a small pilot project in conjunction with 3 school groups to 'test' a model of community participation activity by young people aged 14 to 16 as part of the options menu. 36 young people were placed with voluntary organisations to undertake 30 hours of voluntary activity which could be accredited using the Youth Achievement Award.

"SCVS is committed to supporting the investment in young people as volunteers as it ensures a future volunteer workforce and provides opportunities to support engagement of young people in civil society and with the life of their communities.'

Director of SCVS, Carol Green said:-

'SCVS is delighted that the value of volunteering for young people, which supports the citizenship agenda in Wales and the success of the 14-19 Volunteering Project has been recognised at the UK Government level and would like to thank Sian James MP for raising the Question in the House of Commons.'

Mrs James MP added: "Before I became a MP, I worked with a number of charities so I know how important volunteering is. It gives people the opportunity to help others, meet new friends, do something good for the benefit of the whole community and indeed people wider afield."