Rob Wilson, minister for civil society, has appointed Steve Holliday, chair of Crisis and former chief executive of the National Grid, as the chair of a government review of full-time youth volunteering.
The review was announced in December. Wilson revealed Holliday as the chair during an event at charity Volunteering Matters.
Holliday has worked with youth charity City Year UK, which has campaigned for more rights for young people who want to volunteer full time.
Holliday will be supported by a panel of experts and report back to the minister with recommendations about how to increase participation in full-time social action by October 2017.
Wilson said: “Steve’s experience, accompanied by an understanding of the youth sector and the importance of volunteering, made him a great fit for the role. I am looking forward to working with him and the panel to move this review forward and encourage more young people to make a difference in their communities and wider society.”
Holliday said: “I’ve seen youth social action benefit the development and character in young people, giving them employability skills while making a real difference in their communities. The challenge is to see how can we expand full-time volunteering as a real option for young people.”
City Year UK 'delighted'
City Year UK, which has been campaigning for a programme of full-time volunteering for young people, said it was pleased with the appointment.
Sophie Livingstone, chief executive of City Year, said: "I am delighted to see Steve Holliday named as the chair of the government's review into full-time social action.
"He has been a strong supporter of young people making a difference through full-time social action and it is a fantastic statement of intent from the government to confirm such a respected business figure in this role.
"We look forward to working with Steve and all of the review panellists over the coming months to explore the potential of full-time social action and convey the importance of a legal status for full-time volunteers."
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The National Grid has worked with City Year developing full-time volunteering modesl in the UK and Holliday has also been a vocal supporter of Step Up to Serve's #iwill campaign to encourage social action in young people.
Holliday is also vice-chair of Business in the Community.
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