As announced in Supporting Voluntary Activity: A White Paper on a Framework for Supporting Voluntary Activity and for Developing the Relationship between the State and the Community and Voluntary Sector, which the Government published recently, an additional £7 million is being provided to enhance the capacity of the sector to organise itself at national level, to foster the development of additional support and training within the sector and to further support volunteering. This additional funding will come on stream in 2001.
A detailed breakdown of how this additional funding is allocated is contained in the White Paper and summarised in the attached Table.
The additional funding is intended to enhance the capacity and structures of the community and voluntary sector as a sector and as a social partner. I might also make the point that substantial additional resources are also being put into the day-to-day work of the sector. Total funding being spent in support of community and voluntary groups has increased from £487 million in 1996 to almost £1 billion in 1999. The amount of money we are allocating to community development, social services, sport etc. has more than doubled since this Government came to office. It will further increase substantially over the life-time of the National Development Plan 2000-2006.
TABLE
Additional funding announced in the White Paper