​Bid to make leave compulsory could alleviate shortage

Three days paid volunteering should be introduced across the UK to alleviate a volunteer shortage.

The head of the Scout Association made the call as he revealed his own organisation has been struggling to recruit enough adult volunteers.

Matt Hyde was giving evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Engagement urging the UK government to revisit a policy to introduce three days of paid leave for volunteering.

He said: “We need about 14,000 to 15,000 more adult volunteers just to clear our waiting list. We know that for that to happen we need for us to produce messages around flexible volunteering, so that has worked well.

“And we need employers to work with us, and there are some fantastic employers who understand that as well as promoting wellbeing it is about volunteering.

“And I hope we don’t lose sight of the three days of volunteering that was promoted in the previous Conservative manifesto as I think that was a good thing,” he added.

The Conservative Party’s 2015 manifesto made a promise to bring in three days of paid volunteering leave but was excluded from its 2017 pledges.

Labour has accused the Tories of breaking its manifesto promises.