Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have given to local resilience forums about engagement with voluntary organisations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The role of the voluntary sector in supporting the preparation, response and recovery from emergencies is set out in Chapter 14 of the Cabinet Office’s publication on Emergency Preparedness. Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) have well established structures in place to work with voluntary sector organisations and we expect them to do so.

To support their work, Government published advice on how the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector can safely and effectively support the country through Covid-19. Furthermore, we announced a £750 million package of support for charities to ensure they can continue their vital work during the Covid-19 outbreak.