Francis Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office, chaired the first Big Society ministerial group meeting today, which looked at each government department's contribution to the Big Society and the importance and effectiveness of the Compact.

The ministerial group, which included minister for civil society Nick Hurd, also heard form the government adviser for Big Society, Lord Wei, who talked about how he could support each department to deliver their work on the Big Society.

The ministerial Big Society meetings will be held regularly and will drive a co-ordinated approach to departments’ work on the Big Society. It will progress commitments made by individual departments aimed at helping to build the Big Society, and also work together on cross-cutting issues.

Separately, it is understood that a government roundtable on the Big Society Bank is to be held today. Attendees include Triodos, Social Investment Business and ClearlySo.