Plenary, 07 Feb 2001

Meeting date: Wednesday, February 7, 2001

Official Report 407KB pdf

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United Nations International Year of Volunteers

Members' business today is a debate on motion S1M-1478, in the name of Cathy Peattie, on 2001: the United Nations international year of volunteers.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament notes that 2001 is the United Nations International Year of Volunteering; further notes that the year can facilitate the sharing of ideas, good practice and information about volunteering, community empowerment and the development of active citizenship within democratic systems; encourages all MSPs to take part in volunteering activity throughout the year through organisations such as the Falkirk Volunteer Network, and invites the Scottish Executive to mark the year appropriately.

The United Nations international year of volunteers gives us an opportunity to celebrate volunteering. Volunteering is an integral part of active citizenship. The rights and responsibilities of the citizens who volunteer are a clear indicator of the strength of a country's democracy. Volunteering combats social exclusion. It is the biggest single means by which individuals can engage actively in their communities.

Volunteers come from all walks of life—every class; every ethnic group; all ages—and from all kinds of communities. Men and women from many different backgrounds volunteer. Scotland's volunteers are active in the public and private sectors as well as in the voluntary and community sectors. Volunteering is one of the key routes to improving self-confidence and self-esteem. Volunteers give their time freely to help others. They can bring about change not only in themselves but in society. Change can be brought about at local level through befriending and counselling and through participation in children's panels, school boards, playgroups, community organisations, self-help organisations, lunch clubs and youth clubs—the list goes on.

Volunteers are an integral part of organisations such as Citizens Advice Scotland, Scottish Women's Aid and Victim Support Scotland. On a national level, they campaign to protect the environment or to highlight gaps in policy. On an international level, they work to promote human rights or to highlight global concerns.

The Grangemouth-based International Rescue Corps goes to disasters all over the world to help to save lives. Members of that group visited the Parliament yesterday; they have just come back from India and told us that they managed to save the lives of two folk by digging them out of impossible situations. They are ordinary folk from a variety of backgrounds. Some are firemen and some work for other organisations, but they go to all parts of the world as volunteers.

Scotland, I am told, has the highest rate of volunteering in the UK. According to Volunteer Development Scotland, 50 per cent of the voters in my constituency do voluntary work. I am sure that that statistic will be reflected in other constituencies. Volunteers are found in all sorts of employment, from the caring sector to industry. I know a number of constituents who are actively volunteering in the petrochemical industry; workers at BP give their time on behalf of their organisation. There are people who volunteer in everything from the bowling club to fundraising for the local elderly forum.

The value of the contribution of volunteering to the Scottish economy has been estimated at £4.1 billion. Volunteers give 10 million hours annually. Sometimes people dismiss volunteering as something that happens but which is not particularly important, but those figures make us realise just how important volunteering is and what an integral part volunteers play in our communities. Volunteers are everywhere. They are in schools, hospitals, housing associations, children's panels, community action groups, voluntary organisations, charities, sports clubs, the arts, trade unions, environmental groups and, of course, politics.

The chair of VDS attended the launch of the UN international year of volunteers in New York on 28 November 2000. The global launch took place in December, with events worldwide. In Scotland, nearly 1,500 packed into a centre in Glasgow for a convention on volunteering and community action. I hope that the international year of volunteers will help to promote volunteering throughout the country and encourage people to look at different ways of celebrating and promoting volunteering and volunteers.

I have a list of some of the plans that the Scottish committee for the international year of volunteers is considering. Those plans are drawn from the VDS members forum, which hopes that the international year of volunteers can achieve a fair amount. I should declare an interest, as I started my working life in the voluntary sector—in a volunteer bureau. Although they are now called local volunteer development agencies, their role is still the same: to encourage people, especially the folk who think that it is not for them or that they cannot do it, to think of themselves as volunteers; to find placements for volunteers; to support agencies that want to deploy volunteers; to ensure that there is good practice; and to ensure that volunteers have the support and training resources that are required. Volunteering should never be seen as a cheap option or as something that is done when there is no money available. Volunteering is important; it needs to be resourced and valued.

The priorities of the VDS forum include an international exchange of ideas, experience and knowledge through information technology and other means. It advocates the twinning of similar projects. That makes a lot of sense, not just in industry and the public sector but in the voluntary sector, where it is important that people who are involved in different organisations and different areas are able to come together to share good practice and exchange views on current issues. There is a chance to capitalise on existing opportunities and networks and to share learning between groups, especially for young people.

Having worked with young people in volunteering, I know that the opportunity to get involved in various projects in their communities is immense. A number of years ago I worked with kids whose teachers—perhaps I should not say this—saw them as a waste of space and time. They were wee laddies with earrings in their nose and their hair all yellow and green. They went into playgroups and worked with local communities.

I recall the shock of someone who worked in social work, who said, "You're no letting that wee laddie in tae work wi these weans." I went back to visit the group a couple of years later and found the same wee laddie. He still had his hair a funny colour and the thing in his nose, but he was working at the group on a training scheme and the bairns loved him. He would never have considered volunteering, certainly not in the caring sector. I know that that wee laddie now works in the caring sector. I have not seen him recently, so I do not know what his clothing of choice is now. He worked there because of an opportunity for young folk to get involved.

The sheer change in that laddie's self-confidence was immense. The organisation decided to award all the kids who participated in the project a certificate. He was chuffed to the gutties. At that time—it was a few years ago—there was no way he was ever going to get a certificate from anywhere else. I recall a fairly uppity teacher saying, "Well, I thought he was a waste of space. I'm surprised. I don't know what you've done." Sometimes, we underestimate people's capabilities, particularly young people's. The project was a positive experience, not only for the lad, but for the kids and for the community with which he worked.

Will you wind up, please?

I am sorry—I have six more pages.

Another day.

Okay.

Volunteering is important. The UN international year of volunteers gives an opportunity for people to celebrate volunteering and to consider the capacity for volunteering this year and in future.

I thank all the people in the local volunteer development agencies and at VDS for the work that they do and have done to promote volunteering now and over the years. I know that they will continue to do that. I understand that the Executive has allocated £75,000 this year to the international year of volunteers and intends to award further resources. I see Jackie Baillie making funny faces, but that is the rumour. I ask her to ensure that the money is spent at local level to give local organisations the opportunity to build their volunteering skills.

I thank Cathy Peattie for obtaining the debate. I am sure that there will be other debates that she will lead, when we will be able to hear the other six pages of her speech. She should not worry—I am sure that she will get her opportunity.

I am pleased to speak in the debate. We all agree that volunteers are very much the life-blood of our communities. In our work as MSPs, all of us recognise, and are humbled by, the work and sheer commitment of the people who work in our communities. Part of the point of the Parliament is to recognise the civic role that the voluntary sector and volunteers play in our life. Having the Parliament has given us the opportunity to expose and celebrate that.

Cathy Peattie made the point that volunteering is sometimes seen as a soft issue. It is far from that. The people who volunteer in our communities often deal with the hard edge of problems in society, whether with drugs or issues of domestic abuse. That aspect must be emphasised.

I took part, as I think we all did, in volunteers week. This year, I managed to make a Cinderella carriage out of a Tunnock's teacake at the brownies in Linlithgow, which was—I must say—challenging. More seriously, when I took part the year before, I helped at St Michael's day care centre in Linlithgow. I was struck by the fact that some of the volunteers who helped the elderly were in their 80s themselves. Last week, I got a phone call expressing concern that the centre was going to have to lay off a member of staff and the cleaner and would have to cut the hours when old folk could go to it. We must remember that volunteers are often at the hard edge of the hard decisions that are made about public finance. I felt very sad to hear about the day care centre, not least because it was where I had spent my volunteers week.

We must also think about the politics of volunteering; it is not only a soft issue. Only last week at the Social Justice Committee, a housing association volunteer expressed her strong views. Regardless of what we all think of the politics of the right to buy, that volunteer was questioning her future commitment to volunteering because of the political decisions that the Parliament might make. The Parliament will have to make some hard political decisions that are of relevance to volunteering.

Another issue is the transmission of funding to tackle the social inclusion agenda. There are social inclusion partnerships, but I would question how central the role of volunteer networks and exchanges is within them. I would like the minister to address that point. This is a great opportunity to ensure that the social inclusion agenda is delivered, but the people in the voluntary sector, who can often deliver it, are not sure that they receive the credit and funding that they require. I hope that the Parliament can advance that agenda.

We need core funding for the voluntary sector. We have received promises, but we are waiting for delivery. I am hopeful that it will be delivered.

We must pay tribute to the UN international year of volunteers and to volunteers, but we should not think of volunteering as a soft issue; it is a hard issue and the Parliament will have to take tough decisions, which will affect the lives of those in communities where volunteering is so important.

I congratulate Cathy Peattie; I am sure that she will be able to deliver the next six pages of her speech on another occasion.

I congratulate Cathy Peattie on obtaining this debate and on bringing to the Parliament a lesson in the value of volunteering.

Volunteering is of value in several ways. First, it generates a feeling of self-worth in the individual who sees the benefit of their efforts for others; one would have to be a very hard person not to derive a great deal of self-satisfaction from that. Secondly, it benefits the community. That benefit might be a tangible one; in hard economic times, volunteers save national Government and local government a lot of money and allow resources to be directed elsewhere. Of course, the real benefit of volunteering is the amount of good will that it generates.

Scotland is fortunate in that, as Cathy Peattie said, about 15 per cent of its population is involved in volunteering. That is, by my arithmetic, well over 700,000 people—a tremendous figure, from which we should derive great pleasure.

We should also take great pride in the fact that so many of our volunteers contribute internationally; they bring aid to countries that have been beset by natural disasters and political problems.

I was intrigued by the way in which Cathy Peattie related the issue to the young and to teenagers—a generation that perhaps causes more than its fair share of problems. I was amused by the story that she told—perhaps when she went back the young man was there, but his hairstyle was more conventional than before.

The Parliament must recognise that we have a duty to volunteers—I said this to the Minister for Social Justice when she was Deputy Minister for Communities—to attempt to interfere less in what they do, because they know what is best for their area of concern. We must not intrusively muscle in on what they are doing.

The cost of Scottish Criminal Record Office checks are impinging heavily on many voluntary organisations. I know that appropriate steps have been taken to examine the matter; I hope that that will bring about a satisfactory conclusion.

I am mystified by Mr Aitken's comment about SCRO checks. That has been addressed successfully, thanks to pressure from these benches. [Members: "What about Labour?"] It is a partnership; I meant thanks to pressure from Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

I acknowledged that we had to address the issue and indicated that we had gone down the road towards addressing it. In this consensual debate, I would not like to comment on whether the credit for that—or the odium for the first decision—rests with the Liberal Democrats or with Labour.

We must also consider charity law, as there is no doubt that the way in which aspects of it operate prejudices some well-intentioned organisations.

Today's debate is perhaps an occasion to celebrate the fact that volunteering is so successful. This is the year of the volunteer. We should pay tribute in the warmest possible terms to all those who are prepared to give so much of their time, their effort and a not insignificant amount of their money to help their fellow citizens. We should be very proud of them indeed.

The enthusiasm with which Cathy Peattie introduced today's debate is symptomatic of volunteering; her desire to share her further six pages of speech with us is symptomatic of the whole sector.

I will address a different element of the subject by dealing with volunteering in terms of democracy. In this chamber, we have many debates about democracy or issues that exercise democracy. In some ways, we think that Parliament is democracy and that what happens here is more important that what happens outside. Democracy can be defined as government by the people, equality, consensus and popular will.

However, I ask members to imagine a democracy without volunteers or a voluntary sector. There would be no civic fundraising bodies, only professional lobbyists to give advice and expertise to committees; no cross-party groups; no way of accessing the relevant, highly experienced and committed expertise of the voluntary sector; and no pensioner lunch clubs, housing associations, carers groups, advocacy groups or citizens advice bureaux. The Scottish Executive's programme—indeed, the programme of any Executive—would collapse around our ears without the input of the voluntary sector, which is so central to the working of our civic democracy.

Although Bill Aitken mentioned a figure of 15 per cent for the proportion of people involved in volunteering across the country, I think that the figure is nearer 50 per cent; indeed, I suspect that it includes several people I know who run six or seven different voluntary groups. However, the average is said to be about four hours a week. If those figures are correct, the input across the UK must be something like 360 million hours.

We can go on adding up those figures, but the general picture is clear. The whole economy and operation of the country depend on our volunteers, who are the oil that makes our democracy work. They inform and enlighten this Parliament and they sustain our communities. They also provide great succour to individuals. That is an important point. Many of us feel that a helpful act towards one person is a drop in the ocean compared with the overriding and oppressive problems of the world. However, one drop added to another drop added to millions and millions of other drops form a major contribution and, as Cathy Peattie pointed out, change the way in which life is run.

For example, the Glasgow Old People's Welfare Association runs 2,000 volunteers in a range of residential and day facilities across the city. That work is matched by the huge activity of the Women's Royal Voluntary Service, which runs meals on wheels and other activities.

The Parliament owes a huge debt of gratitude to the activities and input of the voluntary sector. However, the way in which the sector operates is changing. It is still as committed and enthusiastic as it was, but now it is very professional at putting across its case, as any member who has dealt with representations from a visitor group will know.

Although we cannot do the volunteering ourselves, we can respond to representations, take on board the expertise that is offered and ensure that the sector is properly resourced and succoured. In particular, we can encourage volunteering among the younger age groups, as signs show that fewer young people and more older people are volunteering. That might be linked to higher employment levels; however, for young people as well as for older people, volunteering can act as a bridge to work as well as be a means of empowerment.

Today's debate is worth while. As many members have said, it is not about huge policy issues; it is about celebrating volunteering and giving this Parliament's support to the activities of many millions of people across the country who help to make our society work well.

I, too, thank Cathy Peattie for lodging the motion.

"At the heart of volunteerism are the ideals of service and solidarity and the belief that together we can make the world better."

Those are not my words, but the words of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, from his speech launching the United Nations international year of volunteers. His words neatly link the concepts of globalisation and volunteering—concepts that appear, at first sight, to lie at opposite ends of the spectrum, but that he rightly claims are mutually dependent.

Kofi Annan argues that, if the benefits of globalisation are to be felt by the world's poor as well as by the wealthy, there is a need for support at the grass-roots level. Much of that support is provided by people who are volunteering their time and working not for material profit, but out of a sense of shared responsibility for the world in which we live. Ironically, the information technology revolution that heralded the dawn of economic globalisation is leading to new forms of community, which are based on a common purpose and in which geographical location has little or no relevance.

Central to the endeavour to turn globalisation into a positive force is the effort to ensure that the poor are not left behind in the digital revolution. Kofi Annan praises the work of the United Nations Information Technology Service, which is helping people in developing countries to learn how to use the resources of information technology for human development. I am pleased that our Government in Scotland is also making that issue a priority. The Scottish Executive has demonstrated its commitment to digital inclusion by allocating £1.5 million over the next three years for voluntary sector information and communications technology initiatives. That investment will ensure that information and good practice are easily shared and it will increase public access to voluntary sector services.

From the Shotts addiction centre to Caldercruix food co-operative, volunteers support not only every part of my constituency but every conceivable issue. I thank the Council for Voluntary Services, Monklands Volunteer Service, CAVOC and the North Lanarkshire Volunteer Development Agency, which brought volunteers to visit the Parliament today. The support that they offer to local groups and individual volunteers enhances the lives of many of my constituents.

Volunteering is a central part of living in the United Kingdom. As Cathy Peattie said, almost 50 per cent of the people in her constituency volunteer in some way. That contrasts with the bleak picture of a mistrustful and uncaring society that is often painted by some sections of the media. British people care about their neighbours and are willing to commit their time and effort to improve the quality of life in our communities. That level of volunteering is not just an indication of the strength of our communities; it is one of the key mechanisms whereby our society is strengthened.

I welcome Bill Aitken's support for the voluntary sector. I hope that he does not agree with the former leader of the Conservative party, who once famously claimed that there was no such thing as society. Margaret Thatcher was wrong. Such rampant individualism could never have nurtured the voluntary sector that exists in Scotland today.

The voluntary sector is concrete evidence—if evidence were needed—of the caring face of Scotland. That is why we must ensure that the Parliament does everything in its power to support and nurture the voluntary sector and volunteering in Scotland.

Volunteering makes one feel better and is good for the people who are on the receiving end of it—unless it is a boy scout taking somebody across the road who does not want to cross.

In my experience, it is mainly older people who volunteer. During volunteering week, I went out with the Peebles WRVS—whom I accidentally called the WRI, for which I was nearly shot—who are mostly older ladies. They are essential to maintaining deliveries of food to some people in the Peebles area.

In one instance, we went into a house and the elderly lady was still in her nightwear. The lady whom I was with was concerned that something had happened. She checked to see whether the elderly lady had called the doctor and had taken her medication. That was done discreetly, as an ancillary to the meals-on-wheels service. I applaud the older people taking part in that.

More recently, my mother was taken to the oncology unit at the Western general hospital. The WRVS volunteers run the tea and coffee service and water the plants. They make sure that the place is not grim, but homely and cheerful. Their manner and chat is an important part of dealing with people.

As Fiona Hyslop said, it is often the case that septuagenarians are helping nonagenarians. I am not referring to the WRVS at Peebles—I have to say that or they will be on to me for calling them septuagenarians. However, we should not exploit these people. Members' mailbags are full of correspondence about voluntary organisations that are under pressure for funding. I am thinking of day care centres, in particular, which have become much more professional over the years. Such centres must find finances from many different sources and are being squeezed by social work budgets. We all know that; it is not a party political issue. As Fiona Hyslop suggested, the decisions that the Scottish Parliament makes will impact on the voluntary service.

I want to emphasise that older people, who are often seen as a liability—how will we pay their pensions and what will we do with them?—are a huge asset to society, whether they are volunteering as granny and granddad as part of the domestic routine or in a crisis, or are working more formally for the WRVS or other voluntary organisations. We underestimate the value to society that our older people bring.

Cathy Peattie is to be congratulated on securing this debate and on her introduction. As other members said, there is a warm feeling in this Parliament towards volunteering. I would like to concentrate on how we can turn those warm feelings into practical support.

The basic point about voluntary organisations in Scotland is that, over the past two decades, many of them have had a cut in their budget in most years. There is a real problem about core funding with which we must grapple. There are various aspects of that problem. Funding is sometimes available at national or local level for projects. That is good, but it does not help with core funding. Projects might be politically attractive because Councillor Bloggs or the minister for whatever can have their photo taken beside whatever it is. However, if a council keeps a citizens advice bureau open by maintaining its grant, there is no news story. Starting up a new project may supply a news story, but we must concentrate on core funding.

Other bodies that distribute funding—whether the money comes from the lottery, Europe or wherever—also go for short-term funding for new projects. The Executive, in co-operation with the Parliament, local government and the voluntary sector, must work out a system of continuing funding. That would allow the voluntary sector organisations to guarantee that, for three years ahead, they can pay for everything that they need to pay for. On that basis, they can do their good work.

We must also consider voluntary organisations as a training resource. From personal experience, I know that voluntary activity builds up a person's self-confidence—which is good in itself and is relevant to community development—and can lead to employment. Voluntary sector organisations are a training resource and should be funded accordingly. They train people more effectively than some of the organisations that the Executive already funds.

We must create a society in which young people are attracted into volunteering. If they were able to gain qualifications during their time as volunteers, that would help to improve their curriculum vitaes and get them into employment. We must create a society that is less wage and work oriented. We all work far too hard, to be honest, and we should have to spend less time at work. That would allow more people to do civilised things such as volunteering.

Other members have mentioned the older age group, who make a huge contribution. We could recognise that by making it easier for them.

There are ways in which the Parliament, in co-operation with the Government, local authorities and the voluntary sector, could give practical help to voluntary organisations and give real effect to the warm feelings that Cathy Peattie and other members have towards them.

I add my congratulations to those that have already been given to Cathy Peattie on securing this debate. I owe a debt because I was able to volunteer. About 25 years ago, I did not get selected to stand for the constituency that I now represent, so I retreated into volunteering. I was involved in establishing the Strathcarron hospice, which is one of the earliest hospices to be set up in Scotland. I mention my involvement with it because my experience there over 12 years might illustrate some of the advantages of treating volunteering organisations differently, to which Donald Gorrie and others have referred.

I was initially the fundraiser for the Strathcarron hospice. It was difficult to raise funds. We got the capital, but covering the running costs year on year, with relatively little support from the local authorities at the time and only a small amount of funding from the health board, was quite a challenge. I will not tell members how we did it, but we succeeded.

By about 1985 or 1986 the Strathcarron hospice, like all hospices, was entering a crisis. We found that it was a struggle to get funds. Now, I hear from many voluntary organisations that the time and effort that is required to raise money has grown and grown, particularly in what is a time of stringency. In the late 1980s, we seconded our director—the late Tom Scott—for nine months, with a single objective. His mission was to persuade Michael Forsyth that hospices in Scotland were worth supporting.

In the end, Michael Forsyth—unlike his English colleague, who would not agree to it—came to the hospice in Denny and announced that hospices in Scotland would be funded pound for pound up to the amount of money that was raised by the public. That was an acknowledgement of the Government's absolute intention that the hospice movement in Scotland should succeed. Last night, evidence was presented to the effect that, although the cancer plan has slipped back to some extent, the Executive has renewed that commitment to 50:50 funding.

There are other examples. Through compacts with the Government or local authorities, set up through negotiations with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and by saying to the public, "You raise money for this—we will match it, we will augment it and we will leverage it," we can reinforce the voluntary sector more effectively. Voluntary Service Overseas is a very good example of such an arrangement. For every £1 that is contributed by an individual to VSO, the other grant mechanisms at local, national and international levels turn that £1 into £6. I commend to the Parliament and to the Executive the concept of leverage—it is worth examining.

I will make only one more main point, because much of what I was going to say was said by other members. Although unemployment has fallen enormously—which is excellent, despite the possibility that that has adversely affected volunteering—1.6 million people in the United Kingdom are on incapacity benefit. Thirty years ago, there were only half a million people on incapacity benefit. That may be partly related to the stress of living; it is certainly related to the enforced redundancies of the 1980s, which made people feel completely destroyed.

I believe that a substantial number of those people, with some support and help, would use volunteering as a mechanism to begin the process of getting back into work. The Scottish Council Foundation recently produced a report on incapacity benefit. I know that benefits are a UK issue, but the foundation has made a number of relevant recommendations on volunteering and therapeutic earnings. As a country, we need to consider that means of encouraging people to use volunteering as a process for getting back into work. I support Cathy Peattie in acknowledging the huge importance of volunteers and I welcome the fact that we have had this debate.

This has been a very good debate. I am delighted to indicate the Executive's support for Cathy Peattie's motion and welcome the support of other MSPs for the UN international year of volunteers 2001. I add my congratulations to Cathy on securing the debate and on her commitment to volunteering over many years. I think that members are aware that she is a well-known figure in the volunteering movement and is a credit to it. Like everyone else, I put on record the thanks that we owe the many volunteers for their work and, as Robert Brown said, for their contribution to the Parliament.

I will address the substantial issues. The Executive endorses the aims of the international year of volunteers, which are to recognise and celebrate the value of volunteering and the contribution that volunteers make to everyday life; to create a more volunteering-friendly environment; and to increase networking at all levels.

We welcome the publication of a global agenda for action by the International Association for Volunteer Effort. The agenda outlines five primary objectives that have been articulated for the year. They are: recognition of the value and impact of volunteering; promotion of volunteering; facilitation of volunteering through effective practices; networking in mutually beneficial ways; and participation, so that—Cathy Peattie has made this point—all people, regardless of cultural or ethnic origin, religion, age, gender, and physical, social or economic condition, have the right to participate in volunteering. Members have highlighted the barriers to participation that exist, which we have to address to facilitate further volunteering. We shall consider the various recommendations that have been made to the government sector to ensure that Scotland remains at the forefront of best practice.

The year will focus national and international attention on volunteering and will help us to highlight how volunteering contributes to our communities and makes an impact on everyday life in Scotland. The year provides a great opportunity for volunteer-involving organisations to celebrate and promote their activities.

We are aware that more than 700,000 people take part in voluntary activities every year. That is a fantastic contribution. We are encouraging even more people to take part this year, and the Executive has already supported the year in a number of ways.

First, we have set up an international year of volunteers 2001 Scottish committee, consisting of people from the voluntary sector, the media, and the business and public sectors. The committee is chaired by Liz Burns OBE, who is the director of Volunteer Development Scotland and whom many members will know. She has contributed to the work of the Parliament and certainly to the Social Inclusion, Housing and Voluntary Sector Committee. I am grateful to her for taking on that role.

Secondly, we have dedicated £100,000 in the current financial year to supporting promotional activities that recognise volunteering.

Thirdly, the First Minister is hosting a reception at Edinburgh Castle next week to mark the year, and he has encouraged ministers to take part in volunteering shadowing opportunities during February. My notes say that nine ministers have offered to take part in volunteer activities, but I am told that the number is now 10. Those activities range from work with the homeless to packing convoys for international relief. We shall also see ministers volunteering during national volunteers week in June.

The voluntary and volunteering sectors are important partners in the Scottish social economy. Voluntary and community organisations are in close touch with marginalised groups and are well placed to identify and respond to changing needs. Volunteering is important in building community capacity by contributing to community development and empowerment.

The sector also has an important role to play in strengthening communities through promoting participation and developing the skills, which are often passed on, of individuals and organisations. The empowerment of local communities is of particular importance to social justice, and community empowerment is a central principle of the Executive's social justice policy.

The Executive has an ambitious programme for the voluntary sector. That programme acknowledges the substantial and growing contribution that volunteering and community activity make to Scottish life. We therefore aim to modernise the legal framework, financial framework and infrastructure for the voluntary and volunteering sectors to enable the social economy in Scotland to reach its full potential.

To modernise the legal framework, we have set up an independent commission, which we expect will report in the coming months, to review and reform charity law. To modernise the financial framework, we are launching new financial vehicles such as the social investment Scotland fund, and we are conducting a strategic review of Executive funding for the voluntary sector with the aim of simplifying the Executive's grant schemes and reducing bureaucracy.

I take on board the points made by Donald Gorrie and would not wish to sweep them aside superficially. Strategic funding should help us to address those points. We are also conducting a strategic review of funding for the black and ethnic minority voluntary sector.

To address some of the points raised by Richard Simpson, as members will be aware, we are committed to working with other funders such as local authorities and health boards, so that we have a coherent picture and to ensure that we are delivering on the ground.

On infrastructure and general support for the sector, we have launched the active communities initiative and are funding the new active communities development unit within Volunteer Development Scotland. We are supporting projects that will increase volunteering and community activity by older people and by people from black and ethnic minority communities, as part of our policy to empower communities.

We have taken action to address the sector's key concerns. For example, on 12 December, Jim Wallace and Jackie Baillie announced free criminal record checks for volunteers. The Executive will meet the £1 million cost and provide an additional £250,000 for a central body to process applications. All parties broadly welcomed that funding.

The funding that we provide for the voluntary and volunteering sectors' infrastructure will grow from around £4 million to more than £10 million during the Executive's first term in office. This year, we are spending over £900,000 on funding for millennium volunteers, which will give 16 to 24-year-olds opportunities to contribute to their communities and to their personal development through volunteering.

The Scottish Executive's compact with the voluntary sector has received widespread support and is being closely monitored. We have provided funding of more than £1 million to complete the national network of local volunteer development agencies and, having completed the national network of councils for voluntary service, we shall double that network's funding from next year.

As Karen Whitefield said, we are funding IT initiatives in the sector. On 23 November, Jackie Baillie announced an additional £1.5 million over three years to support IT development in the voluntary sector.

We fully support many of the comments that members made during the debate. We recognise

the contribution that volunteers and volunteering organisations make to the fabric of life in Scotland. We could not do our business without them. I genuinely believe that the Executive makes a strong and substantial commitment to volunteering, but we would never wish to be complacent.

Finally, I pay tribute to Cathy Peattie and people like her. If she had not had the energy and commitment over the years, the Parliament might not have committed itself so strongly to volunteering. I thank Cathy Peattie for initiating the debate.

Meeting closed at 17:47.