15 November 2025: UK charities condemn ‘immoral’ plans to force asylum seekers to volunteer
Making volunteering compulsory for refugees slammed as exploitative, bureaucratic and un-British
Hundreds of charities have said they will refuse to cooperate with “immoral” government plans to force refugees to undertake mandatory volunteering as a condition of being allowed to settle in the UK.
The charities said that compelling refugees and asylum seekers to volunteer would be exploitative, bureaucratic and un-British – and would undermine a fundamental principle that volunteers give their time and skills freely.
The government is expected imminently to publish outline detailed proposals for mandatory volunteering as part of a formal consultation on a wider “contribution-based settlement model” aimed at reducing immigration.
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said in a speech to Labour party conference in September that in future people would have to prove they had made a social “contribution” – such as volunteering for local causes – to qualify for leave to remain.