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 news story, Chancellor sets out extra £750 million coronavirus funding for frontline charities, published on 8 April 2020, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the six month deadline for charities to spend their proportion of funding in order to allocate that funding to where it will have the greatest effect.

Government is not planning to extend the timeframes for this funding to be spent based on the fact that this package is intended to provide short term funding in response to the immediate impacts of Covid-19.

Of the £750m, £200m has been allocated to the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, which is being distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund in England. This funding will help to maintain and enhance services for vulnerable people affected by the current crisis, where delivery organisations are experiencing income disruption and/or increased demand for their services.

How to apply: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/covid-19/learn-about-applying-for-emergency-funding-in-england

We have published clear and comprehensive guidance on the £750 million and how organisations can apply for it on Gov.uk. This guidance will be updated frequently: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/financial-support-for-voluntary-community-and-social-enterprise-vcse-organisations-to-respond-to-coronavirus-covid-19