Agenda item

3.1    James Lee (Head of Cultural and Community Development) introduced the report; the following key points were noted:

·         The action plan was developed with partners in 2011-12 with the objective of running for five years; however the environment in which the strategy was operating had changed.

·         Lewisham and its partners had delivered a number of successful initiatives through the strategy.

·         Looking forwards, Lewisham and its partners would be looking to build on the successes of the strategy, as well as developing new initiatives and making the best use of new technology.

3.2    Kay Kelleher (Director, Volunteer Services Lewisham) addressed the Committee; the following key points were noted:

·         Volunteer centre Lewisham had worked with local assemblies, registered social landlords, schools, faith groups and many others to support volunteering.

·         The climate for volunteering had changed over the time the strategy had been in operation.

·         The increased focus on delivery of core public services and the provision of information online had changed the way people engaged with volunteering.

·         Volunteer Centre Lewisham was working to develop a new web platform for volunteering opportunities in the borough. This platform ‘VC connect’ had been used successfully by a number of other local authorities and would provide new functionality for the coordination of volunteering opportunities in the borough.

·         It was recognised that face to face work would still be needed in the provision of advice and brokering.

·         Face to face meetings with potential volunteers resulted in 60% of contacts being transferred into active placements, which contrasted with 12% of contacts which were transferred to placements online.

·         The ambition in the strategy was to make it as easy as possible to volunteer.

3.3    Kay Kelleher (Director, Voluntary Action Lewisham) responded to questions from the Committee, the following key points were noted:

·         There were a number of safeguards in place to protect volunteers and people who worked with volunteers.

·         Volunteer Centre Lewisham was clear that volunteering should not be used for job substitution, or as a replacement for cuts.

·         The Centre was keen to work with partners to ensure that volunteering could be used as a pathway to employment, where this was appropriate.

·         Partners in Lewisham were part of the ‘keep volunteering voluntary’ campaign to ensure that volunteering was not used as a punitive measure.

·         The Centre worked with organisations requesting volunteers to develop their role descriptions and ensure that the relevant safeguarding processes and procedures were in place for volunteers.

·         There were 27 thousand people on the Volunteer Centre Lewisham database as potential volunteers.

·         The ‘volunteer journey’ was becoming more tailored to the ways in which people accessed services.

·         The online platform ‘VC connect’ would enable new functionality for potential volunteers to find the right opportunities.

·         The Centre did not have authority over the organisations it worked with and could not insist that they acted in any particular way.

·         However, the Centre could advise organisations on best practice. It was also looking to become a ‘disclosure and barring centre’ in order to support the checking of volunteers – where this was appropriate.

·         The Centre had two volunteers who work exclusively to develop the online presence.

·         The Centre worked with organisations of all sizes in order to facilitate a range of activities. Some small organisations needed volunteers for single events – or for a single day rather than on a regular basis.

·         There was a 200% increase in volunteering applications following the financial crash in 2008. There had been a reduction in applications since then.

Resolved: to note the report.