Volunteering and the Recession

Below is a transcript of the meeting

Q: I believe you have a voluntary sector background.

Before I became an MSP I worked as a public affairs officer for Shelter Scotland. It was extremely interesting but harrowing….I still carry the scars of some of the appalling housing conditions that I witnessed. It was my job to try to get as much media attention….I’ve made a point during my time as an MSP to focus on housing issues.

Q: What made you get into politics after this?

I was involved in politics before I worked for Shelter. My Dad was a member of the Labour party. Joined the SNP in 1985 and broke my Dad’s heart.

Q: The recession is likely to bring even greater demand for services from front line voluntary organisations at a time when the sector may face cuts in grants from public sector funders. What are your thoughts with regard to this situation?

It is important that we try to maintain and enhance as many services as we can in the voluntary sector and it’s tough for local authorities who are also funding organisations so it’s tough all round. My support for the voluntary organisation has always been based on the fact that voluntary organisations are innovative. They can change tack very very quickly, they can react to circumstances which I think the more bureaucratic organisations simply can’t. So it’s going to be a testing time for the voluntary sector. I think the voluntary sector is also going to have to look at itself…how it carries out its core work. I think everybody’s going to have to look at how we carry out our core work, whether it be the Scottish Government, local government.

Everyone’s going to have to not assume that what prevailed in the past will continue in the future. I’m more than confident that the voluntary sector, no matter what is thrown at it, will continue to evolve the meet the needs of the people that we’re here to serve.

Q: Evidence shows that a recession hits young people the hardest and Central Fife has one of the fastest rising unemployment rates. What measures are the Scottish Government taking to ensure that young people do not become ‘long-term unemployed’?

The Scottish Government have been doing a number of things, not least bringing in apprenticeships – I think there’s 2000 more announced. We’ve got to make sure that we don’t allow this generation to be long-term workless. We’ve got enough evidence of that in part of this constituency of people who have never ever worked for a long time because the opportunities simply haven’t been there. A government does have a role, particularly regarding young people, to make sure that as much as possible is done and I think the apprenticeships have a practical strength but obviously it needs much more than that, but first and foremost you need to work our way out of the recession we’re in. Other countries, Germany and France, are now seeing an upturn in their economies. They are coming out of recession. The United Kingdom is not and I think the Scottish Government and the UK government, which ultimately controls the banking and financial sector and the wider economy, have got to look very very carefully at where we’re going and what decisions are being taken and what decisions are needed to get the economy moving again.

Q: As part of the 16+ Learning Choices Initiative all school leavers are made an offer of a ‘positive destination’, of which volunteering is one of those offers. However, volunteering has to compete against more recognised destinations such as Further Education or the Training providers, particularly as the Educational Maintenance Allowance is to be higher for young people attending the Get Ready for Work programmes. How can we ensure that volunteering raises its profile as an attractive positive destination?

I think volunteering needs to raise its profile, competing against the rest, and it’s got to be meaningful and it’s got to be exciting and volunteering has got to show to young people that there are positive outcomes of that. I’m just speaking personally here, but it seems to me that we have difficulty attracting young people and sometimes, in terms of volunteering, it’s the last option, not the first option and for those perceived not to be able to do any of the other, or go to any of the other destinations, then volunteering is seen as the last gasp. I think what the voluntary sector needs to do is to make the voluntary sector much more attractive than it is at the moment and give positive messages out that volunteering in itself is a good thing but in addition to being a good thing it leads to the development of skills, particularly confidence. It would be wonderful to see many more young people volunteering but I think the voluntary sector has a responsibility to make the choice of volunteering a positive choice and not a last choice.

Q: High percentage of the volunteers we are interviewing are unemployed just now – steady increase since beginning of the financial downturn. What hope is there for this part of the population?

First, we need to get the economy going. I think what is a good sign is that people are volunteering. They’ve got time on their hands and they want to donate the skills that they’ve got to organisations, particularly voluntary organisations. They want to get out of the house in the morning. They want to go and do something useful and that’s where the voluntary sector comes in. I know, from my experience, those that actually use their unemployment period as productively as they can are the ones that are more likely to get back into work rather than people just sitting around and expecting it to happen. I do think that people who are volunteering are much more motivated and will be able to take advantage of the opportunities when they come along in terms of the economy increasing. I mean I don’t think the voluntary sector or individuals can change the economic climate that we’re in, but what we can do is give a positive help to those who are unemployed at the moment and support and help to keep motivated people who feel they can and society needs them to continue to make a contribution.