Former minister for civil society Nick Hurd has urged Prime Minister David Cameron to “stay ambitious” and aim to secure one million National Citizen Service graduates by 2020.
In his resignation letter, handed to the Prime Minister on Monday ahead of the major Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, Hurd said that leading the development of the NCS has been “the most inspiring work I have ever done”.
The MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner thanked Cameron for the opportunity to spend four years “managing a brief I care passionately about”.
“It has been a privilege to work with our extraordinary voluntary sector through a very challenging time. They really do represent the best of British values,” he wrote.
He listed making it easier for charities and social enterprises to participate in public service delivery and developing social investment among his achievements in the role.
But he added: “There is of course much more that can be done to make it easier for social entrepreneurs and socially responsible businesses to create social value.
“The Social Value Act was a useful start but cannot be the end of our efforts to encourage intelligent commissioning from a diverse market of suppliers, including charities, public sector mutuals and social enterprises.”
Hurd comments that “we may talk less about the Big Society”, the flagship policy launched by Cameron in 2010 that is now rarely mentioned by ministers, “but it really is happening”.
He urged Cameron to continue the government's support for the cross-party Step Up 2 Serve campaign that aims to double the number of young people involved in volunteering.
He said government had “done our bit” to ensure giving held up in the economic downturn and referred to the Endowment Match Challenge scheme, run with the Community Foundations Network, to create a £100m endowment to be invested in local charities and projects.
Hurd’s constituency in west London is in the path of the new high-speed rail link HS2. He told local media yesterday that “the current proposal is unacceptable” and that he plans to “throw everything at lobbying for changes”.
His resignation letter said: “I have now served on the front bench for almost eight years and welcome the opportunity to find time for other priorities, not least with the arrival of a new baby in the autumn. It will also be good to have greater freedom to pursue the interests of my constituents, not least in securing the protection we need from HS2.”
Click here to view Nick Hurd's resignation letter in full.
Cameron announced yesterday that Brooks Newmark, the MP for Braintree, will replace Hurd as minister for civil society.
