Local v. national in volunteering

Here’s the start of an interesting post on YouthNet’s blog (4th May):

“Should the local volunteering infrastructure be funded by national government?

“On a day when turnout in local elections is expected to be below 40%, volunteering provides a good illustration of the tensions between national and local.

“On the one hand, national government wants to utilise volunteering to meet their policy goals on everything from crime reduction to youth inclusion. They’re prepared to put money in, but direct funding of the local volunteering infrastructure (Volunteer Centres) is off-limits. That, through custom rather than any set rules, is funded by local government.”

And the post ends:
“It would take a brave government to reduce funding for things like volunteering in order to force them up the local political agenda. And it’s not something that national volunteering organisations, who themselves benefit from centralisation, are ever likely to advocate.”

For the rest, see YouthNet blog: youth issues, volunteering, charity life and technology.