§ 14. Mr. BaldryTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further initiatives he is taking to promote active citizenship.
§ Mr. HurdWe are committed to encouraging active and responsible citizenship in people of all ages and from all sections of society. Much can be and is already being done through involvement in charitable work and voluntary groups—for example, through neighbourhood watch and victim support schemes. The Ministerial Group on the Voluntary Sector meets regularly to discuss promotion of volunteering. The Home Office's VSU—voluntary services unit—makes grants of £10 million to support voluntary organisations, many of which exist to promote voluntary activity and to support volunteers.
The Government as a whole spend some £2 billion in helping to fund the voluntary sector.
There is a need for even closer partnership between the public, private and voluntary sectors. I have been having and will continue to have discussions with representatives of all three sectors in order to identify and publicise ways in which people can turn concern into effective voluntary action.