To ask the Minister for Communities (i) to detail the purpose of the Be Collective platform; (ii) whether her Department funded or part-funded this platform; (iii) whether the platform is intended to replace local volunteer centres; and (iv) for her assessment of the ability of the Be Collective platform to respond to specific, local needs, particularly during the response related to COVID-19.

Be Collective is a digital platform to promote volunteering which was launched in February 2020. It allows people to find local volunteering opportunities and allows organisations to co-ordinate and communicate with volunteers and to recognise and support the skills that volunteers develop. My Department funded Volunteer Now to develop this platform.

Be Collective is not intended to replace local volunteer centres. It is intended to strengthen connections across the volunteer centres and help streamline monitoring, reporting and the roll out of best practice.

The platform is structured to support local volunteering needs and was used successfully to support the #HelpEachOther campaign for COVID 19 volunteering.