Voluntary Action West Lothian is one of a network of 58 Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS) based throughout Scotland and have been an independent charitable organisation since 1992. We are a registered Limited Company (Company Number 174123) and are run by a Board of Directors made up of representatives from our member organisations.

Our role is to provide support to voluntary and community sector organisations in the West Lothian area. This allows the healthy development and representation of the voluntary sector at local level. Through this a CVS contributes to the economic, social, and cultural development of the local community.
An increasingly important role for a CVS is that of providing a bridge between the voluntary sector and key public agencies such as West Lothian Council, to allow us to understand each other and provide ways to have useful and effective discussion, consultation and partnership.

Specifically Voluntary Action West Lothian aims to:

Develop, support and nurture the local voluntary sector to increase efficiency, service quality and the ability of groups to fully address local needs.

Facilitate the involvement of local voluntary groups in shaping services and responding to local and national policy.

Develop mechanisms to ensure that the voluntary sector has a voice in local planning and decision making that effects local communities.
 
In fulfilling these objectives, Voluntary Action recognises the importance of working in partnership with a wide range of agencies and organisations – ensuring that duplication of services is minimised, and that resources and expertise are pooled where it is beneficial to do so.

If you would like to discuss our services further or if you have any ideas on how we might improve our services, please contact Richard Duffner on 01506 634115.

Voluntary Action, like most organisations, is preparing for a busy 2007.

In the coming year we plan to design and deliver a website that will enhance accessibility and help us to improve the way we deliver our services. The website will contain important information on a variety of different topics such as charity law, governance and employment law. It will also contain up to date information on issues such as children’s services, locality planning and community health.

We hope that this can be a two way process where issues are brought to our attention that we can progress with key agencies.

Again if anybody has thoughts on what should be contained in the website please contact Richard Duffner on 01506 634115