'Hurdles' prevent volunteers making their contribution
Increasing understanding of the potential role of volunteers in public service delivery has been identified as a key priority.
Left to right: Fiona Liddell, WCVA Volunteering Development Officer; Rachel Biggs, Macmillan Cancer Support in Wales and Network Chair; Constance Adams, WCVA Senior Policy Officer.
The recent meeting of the Wales Volunteering Policy Network in Cardiff featured a presentation from Constance Adams, WCVA Senior Policy Officer, on WCVA's work around putting people at the centre of design and delivery of public services.
Putting People at the Centre asks local authorities to involve service users in design of services from the ground up, creating engaged communities and innovative forms of delivery.
It is important, the Network believes, to emphasise to service commissioners that added value that volunteers can bring to libraries, leisure centres and so on, but that they should not be viewed as a potential replacement for paid employees.
It was felt that having a basic policy infrastructure for volunteers within local authorities was important. Without this, volunteer-involving organisations which pride themselves on the quality of volunteering they offer, are unable to place volunteers within local authority departments. Moreover, having basic policies in place would allow more creative discussion about sustainable services for the future, which may be different from the pattern of traditional services
The Network will be looking to identify examples of good practice of volunteering within public services - for example, parks have long relied on volunteer rangers. More details on this will appear later in the year.
Fiona Liddell, WCVA Volunteering Development Officer, said: 'The lack of appropriate policies for volunteers is, in effect, a hurdle which prevents people from getting involved more fully in their communities. At a time when cuts in public services are the norm we need to be looking at all available resources in the community to provide what is most important to that community.'
Volunteering and benefits
Leah Doherty
The group was joined by Leah Doherty of GwirVol, who talked about the Department of Work and Pensions'Volunteering and benefits leaflet, and asked for the thoughts of the Network. The leaflet, currently offline, was criticised for being too long, with unclear signposting and no clickable links. There was also some debate as to whether volunteering can take place at 'a local business', and concern about the lack of consistency of advice given to benefit recipients who volunteer or are interested in doing so.
The Network also heard about the recent gains of the Third Sector Partnership Council, which has worked with Welsh Government on the new Volunteering Policy and ensured that the document explicitly states that Welsh Government funding for volunteering should make provision for the payment of volunteer expenses.with removal of the phrase 'where appropriate'.
Details of the upcoming events on local government reform were also issued to the Network.