The changing policy environment for voluntary action from 1979

Abstract

This chapter analyses post-1979 changes in the British political and policy environment for volunteering and voluntary action. It distinguishes between government policy measures targeted at voluntary action by individuals, proposals to encourage the development of voluntary organisations, and the government’s institutionalisation of the voluntary sector by bringing the sector into public policy deliberation. The chapter demonstrates variations in the underlying motivations for government policy, showing how different government administrations have sought to solve certain problems through voluntary action. The chapter draws primarily upon public sources, but also upon archival records of central government deliberations. There has been strong continuity between governments, but there have also been significant differences in the emphasis these have placed on particular elements of policy. All post-1979 governments have supported voluntary action by individuals, at least rhetorically. This chapter identifies differences, however, in relation to how these various governments sought to promote voluntary action; and in how they engaged with voluntary organisations in supporting public policy.