Westminster Time Credits focuses on increasing volunteering by local residents and increasing access to the borough’s cultural and leisure opportunities for local people.

Westminster City Council’s local Time Credits programme has run since 2015. It’s focused on increasing volunteering by local residents and increasing access to the borough’s cultural and other assets for local people.

In the first 4 years, 65 community groups, organisations and services engaged 3,039 people volunteering their time towards regular and one-off activities. They earned 70,902 Time Credits and spent 16,640 Time Credits accessing services, activities and experiences.

58% of individuals surveyed had never given or rarely given time before earning Time Credits. 80% reported improved quality of life, 48% developed new friends and acquaintances, 32% were more physically active, 53% could afford to do more things and 23% had accessed training.
Organisations using Time Credits also reported benefits; 60% said they been able to recruit more volunteers, 73% had been more able to retain volunteers, and 52% had been able to provide more opportunities to involve service users in the design and delivery of services.

`Time Credits are not only an amazing way for us to thank our volunteers but they also allow us to organise social events with our volunteers that help building unity and friendship within our group of volunteers. Thanks to Time Credits, we went for several days out to Tower Bridge, Tower of London, took the Thames Clippers and visited the Old Royal Naval College. Our volunteers also attended the special evenings at the Barbican and special days out at the Kew Gardens. All these opportunities really make a difference for our volunteers and therefore for us. They help create and maintain a unified and solid group of volunteers who then tend to offer their volunteer support more often.`

Meryl Jacques, Groundwork (Team Westminster Volunteers)