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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to encourage businesses to launch corporate volunteering programmes.

The Government wants to see employers develop their own strong corporate responsibility programmes and to encourage businesses, the public sector and charities to consider the role that employer-supported volunteering can play as part of their impact on society.

The Government strongly encourages employers to consider offering volunteering leave as part of their employee benefits package. Employees have the right to reasonable time off work to carry out specified public duties, as established in Section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. However, time off for other voluntary duties is a matter for individual employers.