§ Mr. George Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has yet decided for how much the voluntary sector should compensate for lack of growth in the social services field.
§ Sir George YoungThe voluntary sector, with substantial support from the public, plays a major role in the total provision and development of personal social services. The Department makes grants to national and regional voluntary 53W organisations and my right hon. Friend aims to maintain, in real terms, the planned total level of such expenditure. The public expenditure White Paper Cmnd. 7746, published on 1 November 1979 gives effect to this for 1980–81. Local social services authorities support local voluntary activity and I expect them, when allocating their resources, to support the voluntary sector wherever this would lead to a more effective use of public funds. The provision of this support however must depend upon local need and the level of voluntary activity in each authority's area. This cannot be assessed or decided centrally.