Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled The UK Government Resilience Framework, published in December 2022, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen the role of the voluntary sector in participating in local resilience forums.

The Government recognises the value that the voluntary and community sector (VCS) have in improving UK resilience. The UK Government Resilience Framework commits to deepening and strengthening relationships with the sector to maximise their contribution at the local and national levels.

Today (4th December 2023), the Deputy Prime Minister has provided an update on progress made since the publication of the Framework. Steps taken include the voluntary and community sector’s membership of the UK Resilience Forum chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister. The forum brings together national, regional and local government; private and voluntary sectors and other interested parties to consider risk; provide challenge and insight and help align emergency preparedness activities. The Cabinet Office hosts a Voluntary and Community Sector Strategic Discussion Forum to discuss opportunities for greater alignment in more detail. We have also published the 2023 National Risk Register which provides an increasingly transparent resource for relevant bodies including the voluntary and community sector to prepare for the risks to the UK.

To make it easier for more people to volunteer to help before, during and after an emergency, we will also be creating an online volunteering hub. This will be a single place to showcase existing resilience-related volunteering opportunities across the public, voluntary and charitable sectors, locally and nationally. More details can be found in the annual statement and associated publication in the Library.