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Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

moved Amendment No. 209C: 209C: Clause 108, page 69, line 25, after ““authority;”” insert— ““( ) other non-statutory partners to the local area agreement;”” The noble Baroness said: This amendment is similar to one that was discussed earlier. I echo the concerns of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations that there needs to be a statutory duty on local authorities to ensure that this increasingly important sector is engaged and consulted properly when targets are being set. In moving this amendment, I declare an interest as the chairman of the English Volunteering Development Council. The amendment would place the voluntary organisation on the same statutory footing as other partner authorities. The Minister to some extent responded to this earlier, but we want to emphasise that the voluntary non-statutory sector is becoming increasingly important to local authorities. It is now delivering a large part of critical services, and much of the voluntary sector is contracted to provide services to local authorities. However, it is still made up of volunteers—people who give their time to do the work, who should be included in what is going on. The Government have said that they cannot deliver the services to local communities without the input of the voluntary sector, and we all know that to be the situation. I am sure that everybody would agree that this sector is a vital component of the local strategic partnerships and the local area agreements, and its importance will only increase as time goes on. It is worrying that no status is given to the voluntary sector in the Bill. This amendment is quite similar to one tabled by the Liberal Democrats. I beg to move.