Convener Confirms Council Commitment To Volunteering

The Convener of The Highland Council Councillor Alison Magee, has paid tribute to the 40% of Highland households who do voluntary work and reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to promoting and encouraging volunteering.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Volunteering Highland, Councillor Magee said: "The Council fully recognises the importance of volunteering to the Highland social economy and we constantly seek to ensure the endeavour is supported, sustained and developed.

"We know this not only because of our involvement in voluntary organisations but because of national statistics that show 40% of Highland households get involved in volunteering  - one of the highest rates in Scotland.  We have many hundreds of active local voluntary groups across the Highlands and almost all of our 150 Community Councils operate effectively and undertake a huge number of community development projects. 

"A key duty of all members in the Council is to seek to ensure that the Highland voluntary sector and volunteering opportunities continues to thrive because of the impact it has on our way of life."

She highlighted that the Council helped the voluntary sector in many ways. Each year the Council contributed £4 million to support the many Highland voluntary organisations such as sports clubs and youth groups.

The Council also allocated £800,000 this year to commission Advice and Information Services for local communities via Citizens’ Advice Bureaux and other advice agencies which deliver services with trained volunteers.

She stressed that the Voluntary Sector is often the best way of delivering services across many communities in Highland.  "We all need to continually assess the way we deliver services and continually improve what we do and show the very real benefits that arise from this.

"We recognise the very important contribution Highland voluntary organisations make to meet these aims."