here - United Kingdom Parliament

883W
Written Answers
1 DECEMBER 2010
Written Answers
884W
Mr Hurd: The roles were filled by applying the managed
move policy in accordance with the Cabinet Office
human resources procedures.
National Citizen Service
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Minister for
the Cabinet Office on what dates Ministers in the
Cabinet Office have met Lord Wei to discuss the
National Citizen Service. [27274]
Mr Hurd: Ministers in the Cabinet Office meet with
Lord Wei frequently to discuss many subjects in his
capacity as Government adviser on Big Society, including
National Citizen Service (NCS). Information relating
to internal discussions and advice is not normally disclosed.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet
Office what plans he has for the role of the National
Citizen Service in providing public services; and what
plans he has to monitor and assess the service’s performance
in that role. [27299]
Mr Hurd: National Citizen Service (NCS) is a scheme
to help young people to serve their communities and to
develop personally. It is not envisaged that NCS will be
used to provide public services, although as part of
their summer NCS experience there may be opportunities
for young people to volunteer with, and learn more
about, public service providers in their area.
An independent evaluation will be conducted to assess
the impact of National Citizen Service during the pilot
phase.
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Minister for
the Cabinet Office what procurement process his
Department undertook for the pilots of the National
Citizen Service. [27450]
Mr Hurd: Cabinet Office conducted a fully open and
competitive process to select the providers of 2011
National Citizen Service (NCS) pilots. This involved a
public invitation of expressions of interest from any
organisation or group of organisations interested in
running NCS pilots in 2011, followed by the invitation
of full proposals from organisations and consortiums
shortlisted at the expression of interest stage.
Third Sector: Finance
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the
Cabinet Office what steps his Department plans to take
to monitor the effectiveness of the transition fund for
charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises.
[27302]
Mr Hurd: The Transition Fund is a significant fund
that will provide much needed and immediate support
for charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises to
help them take on an even bigger role in this country in
the medium to long term. Our key aim is to make this
support available quickly, so that organisations can
make the necessary changes to make the transition to a
tighter funding environment and take advantage of the
opportunities presented by the Big Society. The Office
for Civil Society has worked with the fund manager,
BIG Fund, to develop arrangements for monitoring the
outcomes achieved by successful applicants.
The Transition Fund was launched on 30 November
and is open for applications until 21 January 2011.
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet
Office what assessment he has made of the potential
contribution to the Big Society initiative of proposed
changes in his Department’s funding of community
groups and charities. [27445]
Mr Hurd: Civil Society cannot be immune from the
need to reduce the deficit, but the allocation of around
£470 million to the Office for Civil Society within the
Cabinet Office budget shows our support in very tight
circumstances.
Charities, communities and social enterprises have a
tremendous role to play in building the Big Society,
through their ability to galvanise community action,
provide better public services and represent and empower
communities. We will use our settlement to support
them in this work, making it easier to set up and run a
charity or social enterprise, and easier for such organisations
to access finance and work with the state.
While Big Society opens up many opportunities for
the sector, we recognise however that the sector is
exposed during the transitional period leading up to
them, and so the spending review settlement therefore
includes a £100 million transition fund for the sector in
England. Funding for Charities and community Groups
outside England is largely a matter for devolved
administrations.
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet
Office what assessment he has made of the likely effects
on (a) community groups and (b) charities of changes
to their funding as a result of the outcome of the
Comprehensive Spending Review. [27451]
Mr Hurd: It is currently too early to evaluate the
impact of the comprehensive spending review on (a)
community groups and (b) charities. However the Cabinet
Office has worked with partners in the sector, across
Government and the Third Sector Research Centre to
examine the exposure of the sector to public spending
reductions and to mitigate potential impacts.
The Big Society presents a great opportunity for
voluntary and community groups, as we open up public
services and devolve power; and the Government are
therefore committed to supporting the sector through
this transitional period. This includes: a £100 million
Transition Fund to help organisations with shortfalls in
the short-term; publishing evidence and best practice to
support government at all levels to make cuts wisely and
in partnership with the sector; and, setting out policy
measures to open up new sources of funding and help
the sector maximise new opportunities in the strategy
document ‘Building a Stronger Civil Society’.
Funding for charities and community groups outside
England is largely a matter for devolved Administrations.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office
(1) if he will make it his policy that guidance on
answering round robin questions produced by his