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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to encourage businesses to offer paid volunteering leave for employees.

Volunteering gives people a unique opportunity to shape society and share their skills, and DCMS is working closely with other Government departments, charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises to promote the ways that people can give back to their communities. As a large employer, Government offers its staff three days of paid volunteering leave per year.

The current Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has to date not had any meetings with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to discuss how to encourage businesses to offer paid volunteering leave to employees.

Government is keen to see greater corporate responsibility on the part of employers and to encourage the public sector, charities and businesses to consider their impact on society.