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Written question asked by Lord Hampton (Crossbench) on Monday, 6 July 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 20 July 2026. It was answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour) on Monday, 13 July 2026 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Voluntary Work

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote governance volunteering more explicitly as a social value activity within public procurement and commissioning processes; and what steps they are taking to encourage organisations bidding for public contracts to support employees who undertake those roles.

Answer

The government recently announced its intention to make changes to social value that will put communities at the heart of social value practices. We are working with the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector, alongside others, on this.

Contracting authorities must ensure that any requirement included in public contracting is relevant to the subject matter of the contract, proportionate and non-discriminatory. Governance volunteering may not be suited to all public procurements, but central government contracting authorities select relevant outcomes from the social value model, which is focused on priority outcomes including good jobs, skills and opportunities for those that face barriers to employment.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL1668
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Contracts Public sector Procurement Voluntary work
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk