Charitable and Voluntary Sector

Lord Loomba Excerpts

Thursday 30th April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Astor of Hever (Con)]

My Lords, this pandemic has shone—

[Lord Loomba (CB)]

Hello? I am here.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Lord Loomba, please wait as the noble Lord, Lord Astor of Hever, has started, and we will come to you afterwards.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Loomba]

I declare my interest as vice-president of Barnardo’s, the UK’s leading charity for children. It relies heavily on donations from the generous general public, with much of that coming through large gatherings and large and small fundraising events the length and breadth of the country, which are now prohibited. In addition, more than 700 of its retail outlets, producing around a third of the charity’s income, are shut for well over a month, and we have no idea when they will be functional again. On the other hand, it has reported an increase in overheads due to moving to remote working for staff and the provision of some front-line services to directly reach children in need of help.

Can the Minister say what further support might be offered to charitable organisations facing financial hardship such as Barnardo’s, for which it is likely to be a long time before it is back to business as usual?