To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2007, Official Report, column 561W, on voluntary sector funding, what his estimate is of the amount of work carried out by the voluntary sector in delivering public services for which no payment was made in the last year; and if he will make a statement. (175783)

It is legitimate for third sector organisations to recover the appropriate level of overhead costs associated with the provision of a particular service. Third sector organisations are not expected to deliver a public service contract for which they are not reimbursed on a sustainable basis. We recognise the added contribution that some third sector organisations bring over and above the core requirements of public service contracts, for example, through the use of volunteers.