Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the evaluation and recommendations of the Law Commission on the Advice Services Transition Fund.

The aim of the Advice Services Transition Fund (ASTF) was to support the sector to be able to respond with confidence to the challenges presented by the changing funding environment.

The Fund was always intended to support time limited transformational activity. Cabinet Office is not in a position to commit longer-term funding to support the core-running costs of advice services. However, the fund has supported organisations to transition to more collaborative working. We will also be working with the Big Lottery Fund to ensure that learning is identified and shared across the advice services sector. This work aligns with recommendations outlined in the Low Commission report.