Sector umbrella body NCVO has warned that Reform UK’s proposal to mandate welfare claimants to work for charities could create a “two-tier volunteering system”.
This week, Nigel Farage’s party published its Welfare to Work plan, which would require “work-capable” people who have claimed benefits for more than a year to work 20 hours a week in placements assigned by local authorities.
It proposed that placements could be with the council itself or with approved locally registered charities, with suggested tasks including cleaning, clerical work, repairs and support for families.
Registered charities could apply to manage scheme participants, it said, which “would allow good causes, whose importance has not hitherto been recognised in funding decisions, to benefit while expanding the list of possible functions”.
Claimants would receive up to £30 per week for the work, on top of their existing benefit, to cover additional expenses such as transport and food, it proposed.
In response, Kate Lee, chief executive of NCVO, said: “Volunteering is a brilliant way for people to build skills, confidence, connections and experience, and for many can be an important way into paid work.
“But the reality is, the charity sector relies on people making a meaningful contribution because they have a genuine connection to the cause they are freely supporting.
“Forcing people to work for charities under threat of losing their benefits is fundamentally at odds with that idea.
“Proposals like this are often not designed to support the health, resilience and impact of the voluntary sector intended to deliver them.
“A system like this could have enormous unintended consequences such as creating a two-tier volunteering system, undermining trust between charities and the communities they serve, and placing significant administrative burdens on organisations that are already experiencing overwhelming pressure and demand.
“If the aim is to help people back into work or become more active in their communities, there are much better ways to work with the voluntary sector to achieve those aims.”
Meanwhile, the Home Office plans to make volunteering a route to earned settlement for refugees and migrants.
Earlier this year, NCVO urged home secretary Shabana Mahmood against the proposals after finding that three-quarters of charities opposed their introduction.
