An inquiry is being launched into the growing importance of charity and voluntary organisations in terms of providing public services.

Non-governmental third sector organisations are playing an increasingly important societal role, providing stiff competition for traditional private sector contractors and receiving more and more public commissions from the government.

Particular voluntary firms offer unparalleled access to certain pockets of society, or are better-placed to provide a specific service, but critics argue that becoming government contractors undermines the independence of third sector organisations.

To set the record straight, the House of Commons Public Administration Committee will investigate the pros and cons of such an approach to public services and evaluate the evolving role of the third sector.

“More and more of our traditional state services are now being performed in the voluntary sector,” said Tony Wright MP, chairman of the committee. “There are real issues that need discussion here and the time seems right for this committee to look into it.”

The announcement coincided with a speech delivered by the Ed Miliband, minister for the third sector, praising the work of social enterprises and their burgeoning role as “the vanguard for a social movement”.

“In the private sector social enterprise is showing business doesn’t have to be about shareholder value, it can be about social value,” he said at the annual Voice 07 conference.

“In the public sector, you are showing how services can be delivered in a way that is focused around the user. Through working together as partners, government and social enterprises can bring about a fairer society and change millions of lives for the better,” he concluded.

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