Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Madeleine Moon (Labour). It was answered on Wednesday, 12 December 2007 on behalf of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Third Sector

Question: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke too soon because I am so excited about the fact that, in my constituency, the Mothers’ Union has just celebrated its 85th birthday in St Theodore’s church. It has completed 85 years of championing social change and progress, helping young people to develop alternatives to temptations in the world of drugs and alcohol, offering parenting skills, teaching numeracy and literacy and, now, providing parental support for prisoners in my local prison. Does my right hon. Friend agree that organisations such as the Mothers’ Union are essential to social change and progress in this country?

Answer: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We all need diversions from temptation, and it is very important that the Mothers’ Union is providing them. My hon. Friend also makes a serious point about the diversity of the activities in which third-sector organisations engage, helping people in innumerable different ways. We want to find ways of encouraging that. Governments do not create the dynamism that comes from organisations like the Mothers’ Union, but they can help, and that is the point of the small-grants programme that we have announced today.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 469 c283-4
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Voluntary organisations Mothers' Union Finance Grants Social policy Community Development Foundation
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk