Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Social Impact Bonds; and whether they intend to continue the scheme.

Government has launched several Social Impact Bond programmes since 2010, including the Peterborough Prison Offender Rehabilitation service, the Social Outcomes Fund, two Rough Sleeping Programmes and the Fair Chance Fund. Evaluation and assessment findings have shown that Social Impact Bonds can successfully address complex social problems, with evidence of both improved outcomes and reductions in costs.

The Centre for Social Impact Bonds will continue to build the evidence base for Social Impact Bonds by supporting the monitoring and evaluation of current programmes, and building on our partnership with the Government Outcomes Lab at Oxford University, a centre of expertise for Social Impact Bonds and innovative Government commissioning.

In line with our commitments outlined in the Civil Society Strategy, the Centre for Social Impact Bonds will continue to provide support to government departments to deliver Social Impact Bonds at scale. Government is also supporting the use of Social Impact Bonds in the commissioning of local public services through the Life Chances Fund, an £80m fund to help people in society who face the most significant barriers to lead happy and productive lives.