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The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) released its White Paper called ‘Communities in Control: Real People, Real Power’ on 9th July 2008 which includes recommendations on promoting active citizenship and volunteering as part of a range of measures to give people more power, influence and control over their communities.

Voluntary mentoring and befriending is cited within the report as a means to enabling citizens to become more active, emphasizing that strong and supportive one to one relationships are at the centre of every successful community. 

Peter Collins, Chief Executive of MBF said:

“We welcome the commitment to extending mentoring and befriending to support citizens to become more active or volunteer.  I look forward to working with the DCLG and the Prime Minister’s Council on Social Action to develop this work further”.

MBF continues to work in partnership with the DCLG and the Prime Minister’s Council on Social Action to develop the strategy for extending one to one engagement through the delivery of local services.

A commitment has been made to develop greater awareness of the benefits of mentoring and befriending among local commissioners.   Resources, training and support for local commissioners will be identified and developed to ensure that mentoring and befriending is seen as a mainstream support strategy.  We will keep you informed as further developments are made.

Read MBF full response and learn how to get involved

Link to the ‘White Paper: Communities in Control’ here