Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the forthcoming National Insurance Contributions Bill, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of granting Class 3 national insurance credits to young people engaged in full-time social action programmes.

The Government has no current plans to introduce a Class 3 National Insurance credit for volunteers.

However on 6 September, a Call For Evidence was published on the Full-Time Social Action Review which will develop recommendations on how to support full time volunteering.

Details of how to submit evidence are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/643612/Full_Time_Social_Action_Review_-_Call_for_Evidence.pdf

The review will consider what the voluntary sector, industry and, if needed, government can do to support full-time volunteering.