Mansfield MP Ben Bradley praised the work of volunteers and local charities during a debate in Westminster.

Ben, who was calling for more Government support for full-time volunteering, held an adjournment debate on full-time social action.

He urged the Government to consider a pilot scheme in Mansfield to see if full-time social action could improve the employability of young people.

During the debate, Ben thanked hard-working volunteers in Mansfield and Warsop for their work with local charities, including Framework, MIND, Mansfield Wildlife Rescue, The Beacon Project, Hetty’s, NIDAS, the John Eastwood Hospice, the Shed youth club in Warsop and Mansfield Woodhouse Community Development Group.

Ben spoke about the importance of young people getting involved in volunteering and the benefits of voluntary projects for learning new skills and finding a career path.

Youth full-time social action is undertaken by volunteers aged 18 to 25, who volunteer for up to 40 hours a week on projects that support local communities. Working on a full-time social action project allows volunteers to gain valuable skills.

The MP has consistently called for a greater focus on non-academic routes for Post 16 education as he believes that too many young people are pushed down an academic route.

In his speech he argued that full-time social action would be a good way of bridging the gap between formal education and employment, and an alternative to apprenticeships for those looking to gain experience.