Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform the National Health Service; and what plans they have to ask the charitable sector to help in any such reforms.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The 10-Year Health Plan will form a crucial part of the Government's Health Mission and will tackle the challenges set out by Lord Darzi of Denham in his independent assessment of the National Health Service.

To make this a reality, we will be listening to the public, people who work in the health and care system, and partner organisations, as part of a national conversation on the future of the NHS. Organisations are encouraged to log onto the online portal on the change.NHS.UK website, and submit a response by 2 December 2024.

We are also publishing a Workshop in a Box that will support organisations to conduct their own local engagement activities, with insights being collected in a consistent format. This will be available from the community engagement tab on change.NHS.UK website from Monday 18 November 2024, with insights gathered to be uploaded to the portal by 14 February 2025.

In addition, we have established 11 working groups to take forward policy development that will feed into the plan. These working groups include representatives from the charitable sector.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to meet representatives of the charitable sector to discuss public service reform and how the sector can assist in the delivery of more efficient and cost-effective services.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The recent announcement of the Covenant marks a new era of partnership between Government and civil society that will drive forward plans to foster closer collaboration in tackling some of society’s most pressing issues.

DCMS is leading a period of engagement that started earlier in the autumn and runs until mid-December, ensuring broad representation across the full breadth of civil society. The robust engagement period will culminate in the publication of a final co-created Covenant to be published next year.

By listening to sector views, The Covenant seeks to establish a new relationship based on a set of principles that will enable a model of collaboration.

The Cabinet Office confirms that they are engaging with a range of sectors to discuss public sector reform, including the charitable sector, and look forward to future opportunities to hear views from a wide range of stakeholders.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing legislation to give charities a statutory role in delivering public services.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

There are no plans to introduce legislation surrounding the statutory role of the voluntary sector in public service delivery.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to paragraph 2.40 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, what discussions they held with charities on the potential impact of increased National Insurance contributions on their sector.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the important role charities play in our society, and has been working closely with the sector to develop a framework for a new Covenant between government and civil society.

To repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance.

The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of employers with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.

In terms of an impact assessment, HMRC recently published on 13 November a Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the employer NICs changes.

More broadly, on engagement with the sector, the Government takes into account all representations made ahead of the Budget, and meets with stakeholders on a regular basis.

Within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023 to 2024.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether an impact assessment report was done in advance of the increase in National Insurance contributions for the charity sector announced in the Autumn Statement on 30 October.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the important role charities play in our society, and has been working closely with the sector to develop a framework for a new Covenant between government and civil society.

To repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance.

The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of employers with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.

In terms of an impact assessment, HMRC recently published on 13 November a Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the employer NICs changes.

More broadly, on engagement with the sector, the Government takes into account all representations made ahead of the Budget, and meets with stakeholders on a regular basis.

Within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023 to 2024.

Found: Dench Tracey Emin CBE Lord Fowler Sonia Friedman C BE Stephen Fry Paul Gambaccini Lord Glendonbrook