Call for a Full-Time Social Action Programme Pilot

We urge the government to back a Full-Time Social Action Programme pilot.

Volunteering Matters was one of a number of organisations to unite in a joint letter to the Prime Minister. The letter, which got picked up in the Observer newspaper, follows on from the Government’s recent response to Steve Holliday’s Full Time Social Action Review. Mr Holliday’s review report said that “more evidence” was needed before the Government could instigate a major drive to increase such programmes.

We feel that a properly funded pilot programme would provide this by demonstrating demand from young people to participate in this type of volunteering and the impact of such an initiative on social mobility, integration, mental health, employability and public service provision.

As stated in the letter, we wholeheartedly believe that “a national programme of youth full-time social action would create a much needed pool of work-ready young talent demanded by employers and educational institutions, as well as benefit the life chances of participants, beneficiaries and ultimately the economy.”

Volunteering Matters has been offering Full-Time Volunteering opportunities since 1963. Every year hundreds of young people from the UK and further afield undertake a life-changing challenge, living away from home for up to 12 months while supporting some of the most vulnerable or marginalised people and communities across the UK.

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