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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement of 8 April 2021 on the allocation of £750 million of funding for civil society organisations in response to the covid-19 outbreak, how much of that funding has been returned to the Exchequer.

The £750 million sector funding package offered unprecedented support to allow charities and social enterprises to continue their vital work and adapt their service delivery to support our national response to the pandemic.

The financial reconciliation for the financial year ending 31 March 2021 is currently being completed. This process will determine any underspends on the VCSE Covid-19 Support Package which may need to be returned to the Exchequer.

Over the past year, DCMS has been as flexible as possible under the terms of the grant agreements to allow charities to repurpose or reprofile funding in order to meet the needs of their communities arising from the pandemic, and minimise potential underspends.