CUTS in government grants could lead to a decline in student volunteering, a Turl Street-based charity has warned.

Student Hubs, a community engagement charity which is based in Oxford, held a conference on Saturday attended by representatives from 40 universities to discuss how to save student volunteering.

James Hubbard, Student Hubs’ event coordinator, said: “There is a lot of concern about the lack of dependable funding streams.

“The vast majority of student volunteering centres rely on Government funding for their work and recently a lot of this has dried up.

“There are suggestions that students are volunteering less.”

The Oxford Hub engages in community activity within the city, helping students who take time out of their studies to find volunteer work.

Projects students are involved in include helping school pupils who are struggling in subjects such as maths and English and supporting Oxford’s homeless projects.

Mr Hubbard said Oxford Hub had not experienced a decline in volunteering, which he put down to the fact that the charity only moved into its £1m centre in September.

In 2010 a Government programme to encourage young people to volunteer was cut by more than £7m.