To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment his Department has made of the effects on the third sector of his Department’s strategy for commissioning public services. (246142)

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the effects on the third sector of his Department's strategies for commissioning public services. (246363)

Following the Public Administration Select Committee’s report on ‘Public Services and the Third Sector: Rhetoric and Reality’, the Government Response was published on 11 December 2008. This included an assessment of how far the Government’s vision of the state and the third sector working together at all levels and as equal partners can bring about real change in our public services. The Government welcomed the Committee’s recognition of the capacity of the sector to deliver excellent and innovative public services but also acknowledged the need to build a robust evidence base that supports the case for more public and private investment in the third sector as a delivery partner. This is why, through the Office of the Third Sector, £5 million has been invested in a new third sector research centre, led by Birmingham university, which will collect and disseminate evidence about the true social and economic value of the sector to society. Government are also investing in a four-year National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning, which is providing training for up to 3,000 commissioners of public services to ensure they get the best out of working with the third sector.