Extracts from Lords debate on volunteering - Feb 21
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Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Lab):...Finally, the research
found—and I do not think that this will be a surprise to many in
this debate—that volunteering is often the first step that people
take towards becoming actively involved in their own communities
and societies. It is often the beginning of a long journey of
social action and active citizenship. There is a UK
government-funded programme for young people that brings all these
elements to life called InterNational Citizen Service,...Request free trial
Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top
(Lab):...Finally, the research found—and I do not think
that this will be a surprise to many in this debate—that
volunteering is often the first step that people take towards
becoming actively involved in their own communities and societies.
It is often the beginning of a long journey of social action and
active citizenship. There is a UK government-funded programme for
young people that brings all these elements to life called
InterNational Citizen Service, which
enables young people from the UK together to volunteer alongside
young people from developing countries for three months. The
programme has proven to be a great success both for the communities
where the volunteers are placed and for its lasting impact on the
personal and professional development of the young volunteers who
take part. In Bangladesh, ICS volunteers have worked with the local
community to set up child marriage prevention committees, stopping
many young girls being married off at a young age. In Nigeria,
volunteers have helped to get out-of-school children back into
education, while in Kenya a team of all-deaf British and Kenyan
volunteers has been teaching sign language and helped to challenge
stigma, meaning that, for the first time, deaf children can
communicate with their classmates...
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Con): My Lords, the House owes a great debt of gratitude to the noble Baroness for giving us the chance, albeit briefly, to debate this matter. I am aware of her work with VSO and indeed I took part in the InterNational Citizen Service in Tanzania and saw the terrific work it is doing. I also want to underline all the points she has made about the interaction with the Department for Work and Pensions... Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab): My Lords, I draw attention to the entry in the Lords’ register under my name as chair of the McConnell International Foundation, partly because we are currently in the middle of our annual round of support for the Livingstone volunteers, named after David Livingstone, which seeks to support disadvantaged young Scots in international volunteering, giving them the same chance as those who come from better-off or more advantaged backgrounds. I will say something very briefly about full-time volunteering and international volunteering. Full-time volunteering can make a huge difference to the lives of young people. Volunteering generally benefits society and creates stronger communities, but full-time volunteering can be, as the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson, said, that step into work and better opportunities that can make such a difference for a young person, especially one who has been discarded in some sense in their teens. It is essential that the department responsible for social security continues to work hard to try to ensure that every young person will have the right to take part in full-time volunteering without being disadvantaged from any benefits that they might otherwise have had. When we set up Project Scotland back in 2005 we had ongoing problems with the department on the subject. I know that the National Citizen Service has had teething problems on this as well. I hope that the Government as a whole will provide as much support as they can. International volunteering should not just be for those who can afford it or those who come from backgrounds where there are connections in that world. Supporting young people to have a chance to broaden their horizons and contribute internationally is an enormous opportunity that should be seized. The ICS has played a great role in this. I would welcome a statement in the Minister’s summing up on the timetable for the review of the InterNational Citizen Service, mentioned by my noble friend Lady Armstrong, and when we will see some decisions on the next phase of that scheme. It takes about 12 months for a young person to apply, take part and follow up afterwards. The scheme is due to end in April 2019... Lord Colgrain (Con):...Promoting volunteering is best done early. Requiring schools to have their young people do more community service will make them more aware of the existence of and need for charities. It could foster a lifelong involvement and this might encourage their parents to become involved as well. The National Citizen Service programme is a positive step in this direction, but I feel that it could be increased in its time commitment and the age of its participants. Can the Minister give a figure as to how many active NCS participants there are currently and how this compares to the figure forecast for 2018?
Baroness Barker (LD):...The
Government’s flagship volunteering scheme is the National Citizen
Service, funded at the unprecedented level of £1.25 billion
between 2016 and 2020 and put on the basis of a royal charter
body despite the lack of a convincing case to do so. It is a very
controversial scheme about which there are many questions and
over which parliamentarians have to exercise a degree of
vigilance. I therefore read the NCS Trust’s annual report for
2016-17, in which I note that yet again it missed its targets and
its very high unit costs remain static... |