Asked by: Baroness Jay of Paddington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what role they see for (1) UK and other international volunteers, and (2) the mobilisation of community and national volunteers within ODA-recipient countries, in the delivery of the UK’s development goals.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government understands the unique contribution volunteers can make to sustainable development, including the FCDO's seven priority areas. During the Covid-19 response, our Volunteering for Development (V4D) programme has demonstrated the utility of local community and national volunteers, who can mobilise as first responders even where national and international travel is restricted.
The UK Government was pleased to fund the Global Standard for Volunteering, launched in 2019, which sets a useful benchmark for how volunteers can be deployed in a responsible, effective and safe way.
Asked by: Baroness Jay of Paddington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to deliver the next phase of the Volunteering for Development programme.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The impact of the global pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take the tough but necessary decision to temporarily reduce our aid budget. We are now working through the implications of these changes for individual programmes, including for the Volunteering for Development grant. No decisions have yet been made.
Asked by: Baroness Jay of Paddington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to replace the International Citizen Service programme.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The safety of volunteers is the FCDO's first priority. In response to the emerging pandemic, in March 2020 we suspended all International Citizen Service (ICS) placements and successfully returned all volunteers home.
We will continue to monitor the risks of overseas placements and place the wellbeing of volunteers at the heart of any future decisions on ICS or equivalent youth volunteering schemes.