Minister for civil society Rob Wilson has announced a “personal ambition” to make social action and volunteering “a feature in the life of almost every person in the UK” over the next five years.

In a blog on Friday to mark the last day of Volunteer’s Week, Wilson said he would set out detailed plans over the coming weeks.

In the post, published on NCVO’s website, Wilson wrote of his meetings with volunteers around the country who are “helping to build a bigger, stronger society”.

“Their stories and the stories of the volunteers that support them were all proof that whether you can dedicate five minutes, five hours or five days to volunteering, you can make a real difference – and in doing so inspire others to volunteer,” he said.

“The week for me has been focused on meeting inspirational volunteers, hearing their stories and learning what motivates them to do such great things. I’ve asked them, as the people on the ground, what I can do to empower them to create stronger, more resilient, more capable communities up and down the country.”

Wilson met with volunteers from the education charity IntoUniversity and with winners of the Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award for volunteering, including Jackie Patton, Ian Northcote and Danny Glavin.

“As one of the Points of Light winners rightly said to me, lots of people doing a little bit is much better than few people doing a lot,” he said.

“So let’s remember that while 74 per cent of the population aged over 16 – an astonishing 32m people – already volunteer, we can, through inspiring each other, build a stronger society.”