FROM PARTNERSHIP TO ACTION – STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES IN BRITAIN

Proposals to forge a stronger and more active voluntary and community sector, including an innovative pilot scheme to support volunteering gap years for young people from disadvantaged communities, were outlined today by Chancellor Gordon Brown and Home Secretary David Blunkett.

Speaking at a ‘Giving Campaign’ business breakfast in 11 Downing Street to champion Payroll Giving, Mr Brown and Mr Blunkett launched ‘Next Steps on Volunteering and Giving in the UK’, a paper setting out the Government’s commitment to promote the culture of volunteering and giving in the UK, including:

A commitment to encourage further donations using the range of financial incentives that promote giving, including Payroll Giving - supported by a 10 per cent Government supplement extended for one further year, as announced in the Pre Budget Report, to make sure all charities are claiming what they are eligible for - if, for example, just 2 per cent more employees were encouraged to give through payroll schemes, charities could receive up to £100m extra income.
A ‘Corporate Challenge’ with the corporate and voluntary sectors to look at how to best to promote the current tax incentives and develop new initiatives on employee volunteering; and
Widening opportunities for volunteering and working within local communities through a pilot Gap Year Scheme for young people from disadvantaged communities.

Mr Brown said:

“The Government is committed to ensuring that voluntary and community groups are able to play their full part in our society of the future, by helping them grow, become stronger and more confident. Together we want to build a new, mutually-supportive partnership between individuals, communities, businesses and Government, that continues to promote a culture of giving and volunteering, widens the opportunities for all, and strengthens and empowers our communities to play their part in the forging of a modern Britain.”

The Home Secretary, David Blunkett, said:

"Active citizenship, volunteering and community activity are crucial to the renewal of civic society in this country. We have a rich tradition of mutuality which we can build upon today as we establish a new relationship between Government, individuals and community."

"The paper the Chancellor and I are launching today sets out how we will further promote a culture of giving and volunteering. But we all - Government, businesses and the voluntary sector - need to play a part. We would like companies to work with us, to help build strong and active communities by encouraging employee volunteering and corporate and individual giving."

Speaking to an audience of business leaders and voluntary sector representatives, Mr Brown and Mr Blunkett urged business leaders to get behind Payroll Giving and promote it to their employees.

Welcoming the new paper on volunteering and giving, Lord Joffe, chair of the Giving Campaign said:

“This paper is a timely boost for giving and I’m delighted this event was chosen to launch it. Business has a big part to play in supporting philanthropy, particularly through the active promotion of Payroll Giving. I want to see Britain’s biggest companies take inspiration from the Government’s commitment and get behind Payroll Giving.”

PDF file of Next steps on Volunteering and Giving in the UK (165kb)

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Chancellor launched the Giving Campaign in March 2000 to encourage a stronger culture of giving in the UK. It aims to increase the amount of money given to charity and the numbers of donors. The Campaign receives funding from the Inland Revenue, as well as contributions from the majority of top 50 charities. It works on behalf of all charities and promotes all forms of giving, although the main focus is individual giving. Its total budget is around £1.3 million per year. Contact Lucinda Gould on 020 7930 2629 / 07712 045 308.

‘Next Steps on Volunteering and Giving in the UK’ can be found on this site. Hard copies are available from the Treasury Public Enquiry Office.

The Corporate Challenge will be developed in close consultation with business and voluntary sectors over the coming months to develop a package to encourage business to support their communities.

The Department of Education and Skills will be responsible for running the pilot Gap Year Scheme for young people from disadvantaged communities. For further information contact Caroline Nagle in the DFES Press Office on 020 7925 5893.

The Active Community Unit is the lead unit to take forward the Government's voluntary and community policies. The ACU has £188 million over the next three years for Government support to the community and voluntary sector.

Cross-Cutting Review

The 2002 Spending Review of the Role of the Voluntary Sector in Service Delivery earmarked £125m for the creation of Futurebuilders - a one-off investment fund to help VCOs in their public service work. The aims of the fund are to overcome obstacles to effective service delivery, to modernise the sector for the long term, and to increase the scope and scale of VCS service delivery. The fund will be designed and administered in close co-operation with the sector itself.

Strategy Unit Report

The Prime Minister announced on 3 July 2001 that he had asked the then Performance & Innovation Unit to carry out a review of voluntary sector law and regulation. This work was taken forward by the Strategy Unit. The report proposes action in four main areas: modernising charity law, improving the range of legal forms available for charities and social enterprises, building trust in the sector, and maintaining that trust by independent, transparent and fair regulation. For further information, contact the Home Office Press Office on 020 7273 4545.

Cross Cutting Review of the Role of the Voluntary Sector index page

Press Notices index 2002 July to December