Charitable and Voluntary Sector

Lord German Excerpts

Thursday 30th April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord German (LD)]

My Lords, I refer to my interests as recorded in the register and declare that I am the chair and trustee of the Parliament Choir, which is both a parliamentary body and a charity providing support for young musicians. Charities come in all shapes and sizes—some big, some small—but the majority are numerically on the micro scale, with few paid staff and perhaps many volunteers. Here, I echo the words of my noble friends Lady Scott and Lady Jolly regarding the service they provide. The question is, when will these small charities be able to bid for funds from the National Lottery Community Fund? The consistent message we are hearing both in this debate and from charities is that as a result of the pandemic, the demand for charitable services is up while income is down. That is the conundrum the Government must tackle.

I have two asks of the Minister. Like other noble Lords, I have been contacted by many organisations and charities that have outlined the difficulties they are facing. Can the Minister guarantee that she will ensure that all these charities receive a response to the issues they have raised and that a copy of that response will be placed in the Library?

Many charities have handled their lack of fundraising income by furloughing staff. However, those people are often critical to providing the services that are so needed in these exceptional times. What consideration have the Government given to allowing furloughed staff to return, albeit for short periods, as volunteers in the charities they serve, instead of having to volunteer for another charity? Anyone who has been closely connected to a charity knows that myriad tasks have to be performed to enable them to function and be governed correctly—from organising leased vehicles to running appropriate checks and training volunteers. The latter is very important indeed, so these people are crucial. Where the absence of furloughed staff is affecting delivery of a needed service, surely it makes sense for them to be able, under strict conditions, to volunteer some of their furloughed time to assist.

More than anything else, as has been pointed out in the debate, this crisis has shown us that charities make our world a better place. We must ensure that we do not lose them because of this pandemic.