NHS and Care Volunteer Responders Service

Baroness Thornton Excerpts

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

This announcement does not affect transparency or services directly provided by the NHS. We are seeking to improve the volunteering offer to make it more cost-effective, and to retain, recruit and better utilise volunteers. I will look at the point the noble Baroness raises, but I emphasise my point to your Lordships’ House.

[Baroness Thornton (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a non-executive director of the Whittington Hospital, which is my local hospital. It has a very strong volunteer scheme and is recruiting volunteers all the time. Can my noble friend the Minister assure me that this is about enhancing the work that is done locally, because most volunteers are recruited and most volunteering is done locally?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My noble friend makes a very important point and I can certainly give her the assurance she seeks. Over 50,000 additional volunteers are recruited by NHS trusts, which they then support directly in the way my noble friend describes. Their roles are totally unaffected by the change to this programme. There are many thousands of volunteers who support the NHS directly or indirectly via other local and national voluntary sector organisations, and I pay tribute to them all.