I intend to meet Treasury Ministers regularly to discuss a range of issues that affect the third sector.
The current economic downturn disproportionately hurts charities and voluntary organisations in terms of costs, income and staffing. Will the new Minister press Treasury colleagues to introduce early measures to help the third sector, especially in reforming gift aid allowance and approved mileage allowance payments, and so demonstrate to unpaid volunteers the Government’s commitment to help them and not just the exorbitantly rewarded City bankers who fund the Conservative party and who have so recklessly gambled with all our futures?
Many hon. Members represent constituencies that are made substantially better by the work of volunteers and volunteering organisations. The truth is that the voluntary sector enters the current economic circumstances in much more robust health because of the fact that this Government have doubled, from £5 billion to £10 billion, our support for the sector over the past 10 or 11 years. Gift aid is one of the most substantial contributions that we have made to that new strength: it is now worth approximately £850 million a year in assistance to the voluntary sector. I am not sure that I shall be able to persuade the Treasury overnight to be any more generous—it made substantial contributions in the transitional allowances given in the last Budget. The key is that we understand what happens to giving and volunteering in the new economic conditions, which is why it is so important that we now have up and running—from 1 October—a new research centre on philanthropy, which is supported by the Government. That will allow us to make decisions based on evidence rather than anecdote.
One of the delights of the Chancellor’s new post is that he will be able to distribute money from the Duchy of Lancaster funds to voluntary organisations and charities. There is a pot of money there—after the events of the past few days, we hope that it is still there. Will he do all he can to promote that fund, so that we can develop the voluntary sector within the County Palatine?
I am extremely grateful for that advice. I now know where to look for advice on where that money is and what it should be spent on in the years to come.
Over the summer, almost all the volunteer advisers at York CAB resigned over differences they had with the management of the bureau. John Stoker, a former chief charity commissioner, has been asked to review what went wrong. Will the Minister look at the review when it is published, to see what lessons can be learned from it, so that people are encouraged to volunteer?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for championing this matter and bringing it to the attention of Ministers and the House. Although I cannot comment on individual details, I welcome Mr. Stoker’s involvement and hope that his review will lead to a satisfactory resolution.
I, too, join in welcoming the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to his post. As he will be well aware, the economic recession will put many new demands on voluntary services dealing with those who are financially damaged by the economic turmoil. Will he make sure that the voice of the voluntary sector is heard in the new National Economic Council? At present, voluntary institutions are both losing volunteers and donations and facing increased demands. Will he get behind efforts to ensure that funding does not dry up in this critical period?
The third sector will of course have a voice on the National Economic Council: that voice will be mine. I shall be supported in that work by the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, West (Kevin Brennan). It is extremely important that we understand exactly what extra demands are being made on the voluntary and third sector in slower economic conditions, and that across Government we understand whether there are lines of funding, such as Futurebuilders, that can be directed in a helpful way. I am glad to be able to tell the House that my hon. Friend lost no time in getting together yesterday with about 45 organisations to begin that very conversation.
As I am sure the Chancellor knows, a quarter of all volunteers work in the sports sector. The Treasury has introduced the CASC scheme, which allows community amateur sports clubs to get tax relief, but there is a campaign to get junior subscriptions exempted from tax and to improve the position in relation to the tax system. Will he use his office to put pressure on the Treasury to introduce some of those measures as soon as possible, to encourage as many volunteers as possible and to encourage young people in particular to get involved in volunteering?
My hon. Friend is a tireless advocate of the sporting sector and of young people. We want to make a number of changes to cut red tape and make the business of administration much easier for the third sector. If I may, I shall spend more time with him in the coming months to make sure that we implement the package that was put together for the last Budget as fast as we can.
I join in congratulating the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and his colleagues on their appointment, and we look forward to working together to establish common ground wherever we can. On that front, does he share my concern about the fact that v, which the Government set up to channel more than £100 million of public money into stimulating volunteering among young people, is currently commissioning an evaluation of its effectiveness? As the Government’s last volunteering initiative, the Experience Corps, had to be scaled back after an independent assessment of its effectiveness, does he agree that a rigorous independent assessment of v’s effectiveness is needed?
I am grateful for the right hon. Gentleman’s welcome, and I look forward to working with him. I suspect that there is common ground between us; it is important that we find it and do our very best to champion causes. In an evaluation of any programme, when efficiencies can be made, it is important that we find that out, so I am more than happy to consider the points that he makes and to explore what there is in them. Of course, if there is room to ensure shared evaluation of projects, that is absolutely what we must ensure.
In the Minister’s conversations with the Treasury, will he raise the case of the Catz Club, which accepted that it illegally made donations to the Labour party? Catz Club was dependent on loans from the Cabinet Office quango Futurebuilders to stay afloat. When he has had a chance to look into the issue, will he tell us what role was played by Margaret McDonagh, the former general secretary of the Labour party, who is a director of the Catz Club, and by Amanda Delew, a former Labour party fundraiser who is now the fundraiser for the Catz Club? Can he tell us why the Futurebuilders website has removed all reference to its funding of Catz Club? [Interruption.]
Order. Before the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster answers, let me say that there is too much private conversation in the Chamber. It is unfair to those hon. Members who are here to listen to these questions and answers.
I am grateful to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) for bringing that case to my attention. He will know, first, that political parties’ members of staff are entitled to go on and do other things and, secondly, that charitable organisations are regulated by the Charity Commission, rather than by me. However, now that he has brought the case to my attention, I will of course do what I can to review it and to correspond with him.
A range of Government programmes has encouraged and supported volunteering. The statistics from the 2007-08 citizenship survey show that the proportion of people who volunteered at least once in the past 12 months remains high, at 73 per cent. of all adults.
As a fellow Welsh Member, may I be the first Conservative Member to congratulate the Minister on his preferment? On 7 May this year, his predecessor told the House that the youth volunteering charity, v, had secured pledges of £32 million in match funding from the private sector. A check on the charity’s website this morning revealed that the pledges had not increased; the sum was still £32 million. Is the House to infer from that that the charity is having difficulty securing match funding from the private sector, and what assurances can he give the House that it will meet its target of £45 million?
The direct answer is no, it does not mean that v has stopped raising money. Indeed, it is due to report its latest figures shortly. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman looks forward to that. I also remind him that the £32 million is matched by public funds, so there is £64 million of extra money coming in to help create wonderful youth volunteering opportunities that would otherwise not have existed.
I wish the Minister well in coping with the members of the west midlands mafia on either side of him. I put it to him that, at this time of economic downturn, we have never needed the voluntary sector more. There will be huge responsibilities on his and his colleagues’ shoulders to deliver on promises that were not properly fulfilled by their predecessors.
The right hon. Gentleman is a former member of the west midlands mafia, having represented the constituency of my hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. I assure the right hon. Gentleman that I will take forward my role as Minister with responsibility for the third sector very much as the Prime Minister asked that I should—as a champion for the third sector in Government. I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will welcome the £450,000 of funding to the Berkshire Association of Clubs for Young People for a v involved team in his area, delivering wonderful youth opportunities for volunteers in Bracknell.
What steps can the Minister undertake, in association with his ministerial colleagues, to ensure that all those involved in voluntary work right across the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, can play a more significant role in the run-up to both the Commonwealth games and the Olympic games?
Clearly, the Olympic games provide a wonderful opportunity for volunteers across the United Kingdom. The office of the third sector is working within the Cabinet Office to ensure that there is a real legacy of increased civic participation as a result of the 2012 games. We want to enable third sector organisations to make the most of the opportunity of the Olympics to increase volunteering and we will ensure that individuals will have easy access to the increased number of volunteering opportunities that will become available in the run-up to the Olympic games.
Given that the Government now enjoy new influence on the banking sector, will my hon. Friend work to ensure that the banks show greater understanding for, and consideration of, the needs and working circumstances of the voluntary sector as it copes with a difficult fundraising cycle and the complexities of funding rounds? Banks are not always there to support that sector positively. Will the Government use their new influence to achieve a better result?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend and the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr. Campbell), who, as the Celtic mafia, have given me welcome relief from the west midlands mafia during this Question Time. My answer to my hon. Friend is “very much so”, and I am prepared to look, with him, at the issue that he raises.
Will the Minister ensure that funding continues for organisations that recruit volunteers, such as Chance UK? I spent a week volunteering at that organisation last month. Will the Minister commend its work in recruiting volunteers to mentor the most vulnerable five to 11-year-olds and raise their aspirations and behaviour? That work is so needed, particularly in respect of role models in our communities.
There is a social inclusion taskforce project in that very area. The role of mentoring is important. From my previous posting at the Department for Children, Schools and Families, I know that it spent a lot of money, working in conjunction with the office of the third sector, to promote volunteering in the form of mentoring, particularly for young people. I commend that work.