TO BE A VOLUNTEER means 'freely to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task,' according to my dictionary.

But to judge from government plans, those fusty old lexicographers are woefully out of date.

A new proposal from the Home Office says that immigrants should be forced to volunteer if they want to get fast-tracked to citizenship.

This is the latest in a series of initiatives that seek to take the voluntary out of volunteering. Late last year, David Cameron proposed a citizen-service programme for 16-year-olds, a right-on noughties version of National Service. Cameron steered clear of calling the scheme compulsory, but he said he would consider it a failure if young people didn't take part.

Political parties seem increasingly obsessed with volunteering. Perhaps it’s because they look enviously at the charities' talent for getting people involved and interested. As trust in in party politics nose-dives, it’s not surprising that politicians see charities as a providing a magic formula for (as they would call it) 'active citizen engagement.'

"There is a world of difference between encouragement and enforcement"

Is it bad that the government supports volunteering? Of course not. Being a volunteer apparently makes you happier, and anything that encourages people to volunteer can have a positive effect on society.

But there is a world of difference between encouragement and enforcement. Giving time should be precisely that: a gift.  What the politicians' plans forget is that the benefits of volunteering come because people willingly choose to give up their free time. And while there might be all kinds of reasons people volunteer, from enhancing a CV to getting out of the house a bit more, the element of choice is crucial.

Instead, too many politicians seem to be promoting a version of volunteering that doesn’t give people much of a chance to refuse. Sneakily coercing immigrants and young people to volunteer won’t enhance social capital. It will simply make people cynical about what it means to volunteer. And that won’t help anyone.

> Our guide to volunteering

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