Borough to pioneer national first CareBank scheme - Volunteers will get 'time credits' for supporting others in the community

Volunteering is set to enter a new and exciting phase as the Royal Borough makes plans to pioneer an innovative scheme that will enable local people to lead the way in caring by providing help and support for one another - and earning 'time credits' that they can use either for themselves or their families.

Called CareBank and part of the borough's Big Society programme, this national first will be piloted later in the year and will encourage residents to volunteer in their communities, supporting people with low level care needs to enable them to live as independently as possible in their own homes.

Volunteers will be able to register with CareBank and help out with things like shopping, cooking, housework and gardening and earn credits for the time they devote to supporting older and more vulnerable residents.

These time credits would then be 'banked' and used in a number of different ways, for example:
• saved for the volunteers' own or their family's care needs in the future
• used for a range of different services and activities, eg free swims or gym membership
• or, when the scheme is eventually rolled out nationally, donated for the care of a family member living in another part of the country through a country-wide exchange scheme.

Cllr Simon Dudley, Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, said this is a completely new direction for volunteering, offering different options and flexibility, both for the volunteers themselves and for vulnerable members of the community.

Cllr Dudley said: "Our vision is for CareBank to be open to any Royal Borough resident who wants to volunteer their time and skills to help people who, with a little help, can stay in their own homes rather than go into residential or nursing care. This will mean so much to their quality of life and well-being and will also provide well-deserved recognition for volunteers who want to make a really worthwhile contribution to their community. It really is the Big Society in action."

Cllr Dudley also said the council was keen to work closely with charitable and volunteer organisations, whose members will qualify for the scheme.

As part of its Big Society vanguard role the Royal Borough is working with a number of government departments - health, work and pensions, communities and local government and the cabinet office to develop CareBank and the aim is for the scheme to be introduced across the country after its local pilot. In the future this could mean that, for example, three hours spent helping an elderly neighbour in the Royal Borough could provide three hours of help for a sick parent or other relative in Yorkshire or Cornwall.

Cllr Dudley stressed: "CareBank is not intended to bring about cuts in council services but rather to be complementary to them so that, together, we can offer local people workable options, flexibility and support along with tangible recognition of volunteering efforts."

Widespread consultation is currently taking place with partner organisations, voluntary groups and residents to get their views with the aim of running a pilot scheme later this year.

The idea is for CareBank to be run as an independent not-for-profit social enterprise and for volunteers to be able to manage their time credits and activity online.

At its meeting on Thursday 24 February Cabinet will discuss a report on the government's new vision for adult social care, including CareBank. Members will be asked to approve the setting up of a steering group and management board to oversee the development of CareBank in the Royal Borough.

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