Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services – in the Senedd at 1:31 pm on 28 February 2018.
Can I say, Presiding Officer, how much I endorse the sentiments that have been described by the Member? I think all of us—it's one thing that unites, I think, Members on all sides of the Chamber here, and Members who represent all parts of this country—recognise the importance of volunteering, for the individual concerned, as has been outlined, the community, and different organisations, many of which simply wouldn't survive without volunteering and the skills, the energy, and the creativity that volunteers bring to this role.
The Welsh Government seeks to provide funding, clearly, for a number of different third sector organisations. But it's my view, and I think it will be the view of the Member also, that Welsh Government needs to go further than that. We need to create the opportunities for a holistic approach to policy, which means volunteers and volunteering is at the heart of what we do in terms of social prescribing, which the Member has described, and in terms of fostering and engendering a sense of community as well. And I hope that one of the areas that we can discuss—I met the Welsh Council for Voluntary Action this morning, and I'm speaking at Gofal3 event next week, and at the third sector partnership council next week as well. And what I will seek to do is to move beyond the conversation about funding, into a conversation about the sort of society and the sort of communities we want to protect and to invest in in Wales, and that means a holistic approach to policy that sees volunteering as a part of not just how we deliver services, but a part of what our communities actually will be in the future. So, I very much endorse the sentiments that have been made.