DERRICK Holt’s letter (The Big Delusion, Oxford Mail, March 3) does not acknowledge the fantastic work that volunteers already do in this county.

I’m pleased to say that, according to the statistics, Oxfordshire has higher levels of volunteering than the average in the South East: 28.9 per cent of county residents volunteer on a regular basis (Place survey, 2009).

At the Volunteer Centre Oxfordshire, based at Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA), we have also seen a large increase in the numbers of people interested in volunteering since the start of the recession.

From 2007/8 until now, we’ve seen a more than 200 per cent increase in inquiries from people interested in volunteering.

So they do exist. Mr Holt is correct in saying there have always been issues in filling certain roles, particularly trustee roles as mentioned. But at the volunteer centre, we provide a service to organisations to help them advertise and fill the roles that they need.

Many organisations benefit from our service in matching volunteers to roles. I agree that we cannot expect volunteers to run essential services, and volunteers are certainly not free, but I think it’s important to recognise that there is a thriving voluntary sector in Oxfordshire, and encourage voluntary organisations that need help in recruiting volunteers to access the services of OCVA.

Lindsay Watts, Volunteer Centre Manager, Oxfordshire