INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE VOLUNTEER

Early day motion 589, tabled 23 April 2001 by Howard Stoate (Labour). Signed by 145 members.

That this House welcomes and supports plans to celebrate the 16th annual UK Volunteers' Week from 1st to 7th June in the year designated by the UN as International Year of the Volunteer 2001; welcomes this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the fact that some 22 million volunteers in Britain make a significant contribution to active citizenship, democratic participation and community wellbeing; endorses and supports the links between Parliament and the voluntary sector which are being greatly strengthened by the Parliamentary Hearings on Volunteering (which have been undertaken for the All Party Group on Charities and the Voluntary Sector in conjunction with the United Kingdom Volunteering Forum), by the Volunteers' Week VIP Challenge and by the celebration of the work of older volunteers, organised by the IYV Committee on Older Volunteering, with which so many MPs have agreed to be associated; congratulates the National Centre for Volunteering, the National Association for Volunteer Bureaux, the Volunteer Development Agency (Northern Ireland), Volunteer Development Scotland and the Wales Council for Voluntary Action for their work in marking this week; and urges the Government to work with these organisations to identify and address the barriers which hinder many people from reaping the benefits that volunteering offers.

Signatures by party: Labour 92, Liberal Democrat 23, Conservative 13, Labour/Co-operative 12, Plaid Cymru 3, UUP 2.