Niacro

NIACRO works to reduce crime and its impact on people and communities

NIACRO welcomes the first Volunteering Strategy for Northern Ireland to develop, support and encourage volunteering. NIACRO has a long history of involving volunteers and currently have 130 registered volunteers involved in a wide variety of roles supporting our services. They are an integral part of the organisation bringing experience, skills and diversity, which strengthen and influence our work. Volunteer involvement also provides an opportunity for meaningful community participation in the Northern Ireland criminal justice system.

THE DEFINITION AND VISION OF VOLUNTEERING

The new definition of volunteering includes all the elements which describe volunteering. The inclusion of the phrase ‘or in addition to’ further represents the broad range of both formal and informal voluntary activity that is carried out.

Although the definition states ‘for the benefit of society, the community, the environment or individuals outside …… family,’ the benefit to the actual volunteer is not highlighted. Volunteering should be a mutually beneficial experience and NIACRO suggests this should be stated in the definition as well as in the underpinning values. 

NIACRO agrees with the values of ‘free will/choice’ and that compulsory or enforced volunteering through Government Community Service Schemes should not be classed as ‘volunteering’ under the Strategy definition. There needs to be a clear differentiation between ‘volunteering’ and being part of a ‘Community Payback Scheme’.

OBJECTIVE 1: VOLUNTEERING: RECOGNISING THE VALUE AND PROMOTING THE BENEFITS

Proposal 1 & 4:

The importance of recognition and public acknowledgement of volunteers’ achievements should be emphasised, and any form of support for organisations in this area would be welcomed. We believe that some form of national certificate/award (similar to the Millennium Volunteers Model) to recognise volunteer commitment within any role or activity, would serve to support acknowledgement of achievement.

NIACRO agrees that increased engagement with the media over the lifetime of the Strategy would contribute significantly towards raising the profile of volunteering and provide further opportunities for the recognition of volunteers.

Proposal 2 & 22:

NIACRO fully supports the view that organisations need to increase the importance they place on good volunteering practice and management practice. Raising standards of practice would result in the likelihood of volunteers having a more positive worthwhile experience, with obvious benefits to service users, staff, organisations and community.

Organisations should be encouraged to invest in developing standards of good practice through for example, the Investing in Volunteers Award. However, having recently achieved this Award, NIACRO experienced both cost and time implications which could be prohibitive, particularly for smaller organisations. At the very least, some form of additional financial support would be required for such organisations.

Proposal 5 & 32:

There are obvious career and personal development benefits to be gained by young people who participate in volunteering at an early age. NIACRO believes there needs to be a strong commitment from schools and the Department of Education to promote volunteering through encouraging ‘active citizenship’ and highlighting options and benefits through careers information. 

Proposal 6:

It is important that the full benefits of volunteering are measured and promoted, however organisations would need a standard, user friendly framework to measure the impact of volunteer involvement. We are concerned this exercise may impose an additional administrative burden on organisations with already stretched resources. This may result in a duplication of work for some organisations already reporting to existing stakeholders.

Proposal 7:

A NI wide database and website would provide a key information point for new and existing volunteers and organisations. Inclusion in the database should however be optional for organisations as it may not be an appropriate advertising medium for some, particularly smaller organisations or those in rural areas.

Volunteering should also continue be publicised through a broad range of media in a variety of styles and formats. New ways of communicating would include use of social networking sites and other forms of multi-media, for example positive stories or video clips on organisational websites featuring volunteers and service users.

In addition it should not be under estimated the power volunteers themselves have in personally promoting and communicating volunteering and illustrating the impact through word of mouth.

 Proposal 9:

The proposal regarding development and implementation of a Volunteer recruitment programme is vague and lacks detail.  However, if it refers to a Government led national Volunteer Recruitment Programme over the lifetime of the strategy, it is to be welcomed.

OBJECTIVE 2: VOLUNTEERING: ENHANCING ACCESSIBITY AND DIVERSITY

Proposal 16, 17 & 19

Inclusion and diversity should be encouraged within volunteering. Any initiatives which focus on developing practice to involve groups under-represented in volunteering should be welcomed. It is important however to maintain a sensitivity to cultural differences and avoid enforcing formal volunteering on under-represented groups, who may choose to continue to volunteer informally within their own communities.

 Proposal 18

The Government has a role in liaising with the insurance industry to ensure that they are acting fairly in how they quote organisations which involve volunteers. Volunteers seeking insurance cover to use their car in the course of their voluntary work, remains an issue. A number of insurance companies continue to insist that business cover is required, often at a cost to the volunteer which is unacceptable and can create a barrier to volunteering. Formation of a working group with representatives from the insurance industry, Government and volunteering infrastructure to tackle this issue would support this proposal.

Proposal 20

The success of the Strategy’s delivery is dependent on the Government ensuring that legislation and policy are screened before introduction, to mitigate any unintended consequences on volunteer recruitment.

The new Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups legislation has far -reaching implications which we believe have not fully been explored. (The Scottish Parliament has delayed similar legislation for at least two years so that there can be wide consultation).

NIACRO is strongly in favour of proper protections for children and vulnerable adults, and ensuring the highest levels of professionalism and integrity in those volunteering with them. However the inevitable effect of the new legislation is once again to raise the bar for ex-offenders attempting to volunteer, which is a valid route to gain skills and experience to enter eventual employment - one of the main routes out of offending.   

 A number of NIACRO’s volunteers are ex-offenders and are often the best support and guide away from offending behaviour for service users. This legislation will result in an increased number of voluntary positions becoming subject to checks, which will further reduce opportunity for people with past convictions to become involved in volunteering.

Retrospective checking may result in removing such volunteers from roles which they may have been doing successfully for many years without any problems. This will have an obvious negative impact, not just on the volunteer but also the service user they are supporting.

There is no indication that there will be any consideration of an individual’s capacity to change and develop and every fear that the Independent Safeguarding Authority will err on the side of excluding people from volunteering.

We appeal to the legislators and policy–makers to consider the fact that this legislation will act as a barrier to people who have a conviction, but pose no threat to society. These are also people who are being encouraged to turn away from crime and become actively engaged in society.

With regard to Access NI, it is important that the bureaucracy and waiting time to process criminal records checks is kept to a minimum for both potential volunteers and organisations. In the past, long waiting times have resulted in organisations losing potential volunteers to other opportunities/organisations.

Checks, of themselves can sometimes become an additional barrier to volunteering for people who may feel reluctant to share personal information. In addition those with a criminal record can face similar issues in disclosing conviction information.  Volunteer - involving organisations have a responsibility to explain to potential volunteers the necessity to provide such information and encourage disclosure of any past convictions. They should also give guidance on how best to present such information and explain how it will be used to assist the selection process.

NIACRO offers a service to support organisations and potential volunteers who require guidance in disclosure of criminal convictions. In addition Access NI Checks and the ISA registration should be free to all volunteers.

Proposal 21

The benefits system can act as a further barrier to volunteering, particularly for some under represented groups. Volunteering should be recognised as a worthwhile route to gain skills, experience and confidence to move into employment.  Social Security Agency staff /personal advisors should be trained to give correct and consistent information regarding rules on volunteering whilst claiming benefits. Up to date information leaflets and posters on volunteering and benefits are also needed. In addition Social Security staff also have a role to play in promoting the benefits of volunteering and providing information on accessing opportunities.

OBJECTIVE 3: VOLUNTEERING: IMPROVING THE EXPERIENCE

Suggestions made by NIACRO volunteers to improve the volunteering experience include; organisations maintaining regular contact with volunteers and encouraging interaction through training events, support and social events (in both urban and rural areas). In addition publicising feedback from volunteers and service users, saying ‘thank you’ and showing appreciation would further improve volunteer motivation and retention.

Proposal 24

NIACRO recognise the difficulty experienced in recruiting members to management committees. Some form of support and protection needs to be introduced to enable people to feel less vulnerable and minimise the impact of fear of litigation.

Proposal 28, 29 & 30

We agree in principal with the concept of flexible volunteering for people with limited time to commit. ‘Family volunteering’ and ‘turn up, take part’ events could be difficult to organise and manage and may only work with certain types of volunteer activities (eg. conservation). Organisations would need to consider implications around risk management, insurance cover, health and safety practice, Access NI checks, which are likely to cause barriers to their ability to implement the idea.

Proposal 31

Access to recognised qualifications and support in the development of skills should be encouraged for those volunteers seeking accreditation and professional development. It can however be difficult for organisations to develop and run accredited training programmes in terms of time, expertise and cost. A database detailing the range of accredited options which volunteers could access through larger training organisations and availability of funding to undertake such training would strengthen implementation of this proposal.

Proposal 34

Funders should be encouraged to understand good practice in involving volunteers. Achievement of the Investing in Volunteers Award would be an indicator of the quality of volunteer projects. Funders should use these standards to assess the quality of potential projects and include them as criteria in funding applications. Volunteer costs should also be built into all funding applications, including all volunteer expenses and childcare expenses.

OBJECTIVE 4: VOLUNTEERING: SUPPORTING AND STRENGTHENING THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Proposals 35 & 36

Successful delivery of the Strategy for volunteering in Northern Ireland will be dependant on integration of regional and local volunteering infrastructure. In addition a comprehensive investment programme is essential to support implementation of the strategy and sustain it over its lifetime and beyond.

OBJECTIVE 5: VOLUNTEERING: DELIVERING THE STRATEGY

Proposals 37, 38, 39

NIACRO agree that for the Strategy to succeed there needs to be accountability and ongoing monitoring of the implementation of it, by a range of stakeholders. Review of the achievements on an annual basis and at the end of the period of the Strategy, will be necessary to consider future measures that would support ongoing development of volunteering.