Charitable and Voluntary Sector

Lord Mendelsohn Excerpts

Thursday 30th April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mendelsohn (Lab)]

My Lords, I express my deep gratitude to the noble Lord, Lord Addington, for securing this important debate and I associate myself with his excellent speech. I have a few questions for the Minister arising from my experience of working with charities at this time, and I declare a registered interest in or personal connection to all of them.

The government strategy, rightly, looks at how we should shield those who are most vulnerable from the most adverse consequences of contracting Covid-19. This will be relevant for many, where the future is unknown and the risks become greater the more the restrictions are loosened. Of the cancer patients in this category, fully 60% are blood cancer patients. Blood Cancer UK, which is dependent on public donations and events, is inundated. Specialised help and extended services need to be provided.

Will the Government consider providing direct support to charity and voluntary sector organisations which are supporting, and will continue to have to support, cancer patients with compromised immune systems over this longer period? Listening to the experts on treatments, it is clear that we are less successful in this country at treating vulnerable people’s underlying conditions than are other countries, as we have very high levels of entry to hospital care. Will the Government take steps to improve survivability to the level achieved in other countries and engage with the expert charities in doing so?

Norwood, the Jewish community’s largest adult and childcare services charity, has been deeply affected by both cost and revenue losses. The net effect is £1 million a month and we are eligible to apply for only a £5,000 grant. We do not expect this financial problem to be solved by the Government, but the greatest challenges have been testing and PPE. Government delivery has worked only when local authorities have been properly involved and properly resourced to do so. Will the Minister ask the Government to consider a greater deployment of delivery capability to local authorities and better support?

Many charities have had to furlough staff, but many staff members now wish to volunteer for charities. Naturally, we wish to avoid abuse of such a regime, but will the Minister work with charities such as First Tech Challenge UK, which has been looking at ways to create flexibility?

Finally, I ask the Minister to look at how we underpin families and communities. Organisations such as the Unitas Youth Zone in Barnet have been looking at how to repurpose youth provision not just to maximise what we can do for young people but to support the community and work with those who need food or help with education, or those with difficult family circumstances. Again, I ask the Government to consider convening local authorities to play a crucial role in what might come once the current situation has been loosened.