Give a choice

SIR: It seems odd that charities and other such organisations are crying out for volunteers, when we have so many unemployed people in the country. If someone in the government changed the Job Seekers rules, or introduced an alternative benefit, they could allow those unemployed people who want to do voluntary work, to do so on a more permanent basis, without their benefits being affected. I don't mean force the unemployed to do voluntary work like Project Work has done, but give them a choice. In return, those who choose to do voluntary work would get all of their benefits as usual, but would not have to sign on or be quizzed on how many jobs they have applied for in the previous fortnight. In short, while you are doing voluntary work, you would not need to look for other employment.