Pivotal step forward for CareBank as provider announced

A pivotal step forward has been taken in the Royal Borough's pioneering CareBank scheme - which will enable residents to receive time credits when they volunteer to support others in the community - with the announcement this week of the service provider.

Yesterday (Monday 5 September) the council and WRVS (formerly known as the Women's Royal Voluntary Service) signed an agreement that will see WRVS working with local organisations to develop CareBank into a community-led social enterprise.

Part of the borough's Big Society programme, the CareBank vision is to encourage residents to volunteer in their communities, enabling people with unmet support needs to live as independently as possible in their own homes. Volunteers will register with CareBank and help out with activities such as shopping, cooking, housework and gardening.

The pilot will test - where volunteer input is appropriate - the viability of time credits being used for the volunteer's own or their family's support needs. There will also be opportunities to use credits to access leisure activities.

The scheme, developed by the Royal Borough in conjunction with the Cabinet Office and Department for Work and Pensions and funded by the Department for Health, will now be taken forward by WRVS working in conjunction with the Royal Borough.

In the longer term the plan is for the partnership to expand the scheme, eventually developing it into a national CareBank scheme. This would allow a volunteer to exchange accrued credits to, for example, help an elderly relative living in another part of the country.

Cllr Simon Dudley, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, said: "We are delighted to be working with WRVS, a highly respected organisation with both length and breadth of experience of voluntary working with older people.

"CareBank will be open to any Royal Borough resident who wants to volunteer. They can offer their time and skills to support people who, with this help, can stay in their own homes rather than go into residential or nursing care. It has the potential to make a real difference for many people in our community."

Angela Geer, Director of Older People's Services, WRVS, said: "WRVS is delighted to work on this scheme and we hope it will encourage new people, young as well as old, to volunteer. Volunteering is a two-way street and with CareBank the rewards are on offer to both parties and people know they are making a difference to their life and the community."

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