Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations play a critical role in local public service systems, at both national and local levels. Hugely varied in type, they are broadly similar in their overarching civil society objectives and represent trusted, locally rooted entities, frequently reaching people and places that statutory services struggle to serve. Over the last decade, and especially since COVID-19, demand for VCSE support has risen steeply, while becoming more complex, driven by a range of factors including cost-of-living pressures, health and social care backlogs, diminishment in statutory service provisions, and widening inequalities. The environment remains volatile. Core and flexible funding have not kept pace, and the volunteering bedrock of VCSEs has eroded in some areas. Equally, policy changes (including the Social Value Act, the Social Value Model, and the Procurement Act) and emerging provisions (e.g. the VCSE Business Hub) have improved the environment for VCSE participation in public contracts, while local commissioning practices and payment timeliness remain key.