Charity Giving Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Baroness Nargund
Main Page: Baroness Nargund (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Nargund's debates with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
(1 day, 11 hours ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
The noble Lord will be entirely aware of the difficult decisions this Government had to make on winning the election in 2024. My noble friend Lord Livermore is not here, but I think he would probably refer that back to the Benches opposite. If the noble Lord has not read the report—it is a really interesting read—that was not one of the specific things I recall coming up in it. We would prefer to look at it in a much more positive way and to make the case for people giving. We will continue to do that as a government.
Baroness Nargund (Lab)
My Lords, the new Queen Elizabeth Trust has been established to regenerate shared community spaces, reflecting Her late Majesty’s commitment to public service. These spaces could be of enormous benefit to young people, who, according to the Charities Aid Foundation, have the lowest level of charitable engagement of any age group at the moment. Do the Government have any plans to promote youth volunteering, particularly as a means of skills development? If so, does my noble friend the Minister agree that organisations such as the Queen Elizabeth Trust, as well as the King’s Trust, could help mobilise that youth involvement?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
Like other noble Lords and my noble friend, I was very pleased to see the announcement of the launch of the Queen Elizabeth Trust over the weekend. Her late Majesty, whose 100th birthday it would have been tomorrow, was exceptional at bringing people together. In response to my noble friend’s question around youth engagement and social action, we recognise that participation in youth social action, including volunteering, builds young people’s skills and increases their confidence. We are supporting the #iwill movement, which aims to increase the scale, sustainability and impact of youth social action and volunteering. I have already referenced the national youth strategy, and this is part of what we are trying to encourage through that.