Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) conservation and (b) other charities on (i) creating more volunteering opportunities for people with (A) dementia, (B) mental health challenges and (C) disabled people and (ii) the establishment of social prescribing programmes to help support people with health requirements volunteer.

Volunteering is critical to a vibrant and resilient civil society. It benefits volunteers and the organisations involving them and has transformational impacts on beneficiaries and their communities. We want to see as many people getting involved and taking action on the causes that mean the most to them.

DCMS is an active partner in the sector-led Vision for Volunteering, a ten-year initiative that aims to make volunteering more equitable, diverse and inclusive. We regularly engage with a range of charities and other volunteer-involving organisations to understand both the challenges and opportunities in relation to volunteering.

In addition, we are specifically investing to support people to overcome barriers to volunteering. In 2021, DCMS launched the Volunteering Futures Fund which provides over £7 million, including match funding, to improve the accessibility of volunteering. As a result, thousands of young people, people with disabilities, those experiencing loneliness and other barriers have the opportunity to volunteer and help others.

Social prescribing also has an important part to play in supporting people into volunteering. In 2021 and 2022, a number of DCMS arms length bodies, including Arts Council England, Historic England and Sport England, partnered with the National Academy for Social Prescribing to deliver the £1.8m Thriving Communities Programme, which supported 37 projects across England. Projects used the power of culture and heritage alongside nature, sport, health and financial support to benefit the wellbeing of communities most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.