Check with the Jobcentre, but I'm pretty sure voluntary work can count towards the 35 hours "worksearch activities," although there may be a limit on this.
I don't think it was ill thought out, IDS and his cohorts knew exactly what they were doing and the probable consequences of their decisions. A friend of mine who, up until recently, trained new CAB advisors for the whole of the south-west of England told me what would happen well before its...