MP Diane Abbott has tabled an early day motion supporting the campaign, asking other MPs to sign up and support the proposed changes which would allow lunch costs to be reimbursed to benefit recipients working as volunteers.

The organisation says current guidance on the matter is contradictory and creates a barrier, preventing people in receipt of benefits from accessing volunteering opportunities.

Volunteering England also wants the government to ensure that all changes made to guidance on volunteering work are fully consulted on across the voluntary sector before issue.

Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, said: “People who are unemployed should not be prevented from volunteering by not being given lunch expenses. Not only does volunteering give them new work experiences from which to draw in employment, it is also something that they can do positively just as well as someone who is employed.

“We should not be discouraging anyone from this activity, or prejudicing anyone against taking part,” she added.

Volunteering England chief executive Christopher Spence CBE said it was “ludicrous” that one arm of government was promoting volunteering as a means of increasing social cohesion while another was excluding people from participation.