Cabinet Office Homepage

Third Sector

The Office of the Third Sector leads work across government to support a thriving third sector (voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals), enabling the sector to campaign for change, deliver public services, promote social enterprise and strengthen communities.

• Office of the Third Sector website

Background

The Office of the Third Sector (OTS) was created in May 2006 incorporating the responsibilities of the Active Communities Directorate in the Home Office, and the Social Enterprise Unit, in the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI). The decision to place the OTS at the centre of government in the Cabinet Office was taken in recognition of the increasingly important role the third sector plays in both society and the economy.

What is the third sector?

The third sector is a diverse, active and passionate sector. Organisations in the sector share common characteristics:

• non–governmental
• value–driven
• principally reinvest their surpluses to further social, environmental or cultural objectives.

The term encompasses voluntary and community organisations, charities, social enterprises, cooperatives and mutuals both large and small.