Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department is applying to health and social care charities for the funding allotted by the Government for charities in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
On 8 April 2020 the Chancellor announced £750 million to support the charity sector in response to COVID-19 with £360 million to be allocated by central Government to charities in England based on evidence of service need. The initial announcement set out that up to £200 million of the total was support for hospices.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has been working with other Government departments to identify other charities that are critical to the COVID-19 response and to agree funding. On 22 May a further announcement was made which detailed the health and social care charities that would be in receipt of a further £22 million of that funding at the following link:
The Department of Health and Social Care is engaging with the relevant charities directly to ensure the money goes out to the charities as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the £360 million Government funding for the charity sector in response to covid-19 outbreak, whether his Department has received an allocation of that funding; what discussions his Department is having with charities in the health and social care sector on that funding; and what the criteria are for applying for that funding.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
On 8 April 2020 the Chancellor announced £750 million to support the charity sector in response to COVID-19 with £360 million to be allocated by central Government to charities in England based on evidence of service need. The initial announcement set out that up to £200 million of the total was support for hospices.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has been working with other Government departments to identify other charities that are critical to the COVID-19 response and to agree funding. On 22 May a further announcement was made which detailed the health and social care charities that would be in receipt of a further £22 million of that funding at the following link:
The Department of Health and Social Care is engaging with the relevant charities directly to ensure the money goes out to the charities as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to establish an online Coronavirus charity support finder to signpost Government financial support that is available.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The £750 million funding package announced by the Government on 8 April is to ensure charities providing frontline services to vulnerable people affected by the pandemic can continue their vital work. £360m is being distributed via individual government departments based on evidence of service need. Up to £200m of this will directly support hospices and be administered by the Department of Health and Social Care. Departments are using a range of approaches to allocating funding in order to meet identified needs quickly, including bidding processes and awarding funding directly. Applications are now open for funding for the distribution of food to vulnerable people, safe accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse, armed services charities, and charities working to tackle loneliness and homelessness. Further information has been released on gov.uk.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will publish an online resource signposting charities to these funding opportunities available for applications through government departments. We expect this resource to be published shortly.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure transparency in the criteria for the (a) allocation and (b) application process for the £360 million allocated from the public purse to supporting charities financially affected by covid-19.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The £750 million funding package announced by the Government on 8 April is to ensure charities providing frontline services to vulnerable people affected by the pandemic can continue their vital work. £360m is being distributed via individual government departments based on evidence of service need. Up to £200m of this will directly support hospices and be administered by the Department of Health and Social Care. Departments are using a range of approaches to allocating funding in order to meet identified needs quickly, including bidding processes and awarding funding directly. Applications are now open for funding for the distribution of food to vulnerable people, safe accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse, armed services charities, and charities working to tackle loneliness and homelessness. Further information has been released on gov.uk.
The criteria for each fund are determined by the department responsible for distributing the funding. Each department is also responsible for due diligence and monitoring of the grants. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will publish an online resource signposting charities to these funding opportunities available for applications through government departments.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much and what proportion of the Government’s £750 million covid-19 fund for charities has been allocated.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The £750 million funding package announced by the Government on 8 April is to ensure charities providing frontline services to vulnerable people affected by the pandemic can continue their vital work.
£360m is being distributed via individual government departments based on evidence of service need. Up to £200m of this will directly support hospices and be administered by the Department of Health and Social Care. Departments are using a range of approaches to allocating funding in order to meet identified needs quickly, including bidding processes and awarding funding directly. Applications are now open for funding for the distribution of food to vulnerable people, safe accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse, armed services charities, and charities working to tackle loneliness and homelessness. Further information has been released on gov.uk.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating funding to Rett UK to enable it to maintain the provision of providing support to people with Rett syndrome.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 8 April 2020 the Chancellor announced £750 million to support the charity sector in response to COVID-19. This fund comprises three elements:
- £360 million will be allocated by central government to charities in England based on evidence of service need. This will include up to £200 million support for hospices, with the rest going to organisations like St John Ambulance and the Citizens Advice Bureau as well as charities supporting vulnerable children, victims of domestic abuse, or disabled people. The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and HM Treasury to work through which voluntary sector organisations are making an essential contribution to the COVID-19 response and may be eligible for funding;
- £370 million will support charities working with vulnerable people. In England, this support will be provided through the National Lottery Community Fund. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is working with the National Lottery Community Fund to develop eligibility, application and assessment criteria for this part of the fund, which will be launched imminently. Applicants will be assessed on the extent to which they meet the objectives of the fund, which are to reduce temporary closures of essential charities and to reduce the burden on the public services, including the National Health Service; and
- The Government will match the public donations to the BBC Big Night In fundraising event, which took place on 23 April, starting with a contribution of at least £20 million to the National Emergencies Trust appeal.
Charities can also access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme; the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme; and, they are able to benefit from the three-month VAT deferral scheme. Charity shop premises will benefit from the new enhanced retail rate relief at 100%.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What fiscal steps he is taking to support the charity sector during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Alongside unprecedented support for individuals and businesses in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has announced a £750 million support package for charities.
£360m of this will be allocated directly to charities providing essential services and supporting vulnerable people, including up to £200m for hospices across the next quarter.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the (a) capacity and (b) level of staffing in the hospice sector; how hospices are supporting the families of terminally-ill patients due to social distancing guidance; and what steps he is taking to ensure that hospices continue to benefit from community fundraising activities during the outbreak.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department holds regular discussions with representatives of the hospice sector about how they are coping during the COVID-19 outbreak, including capacity and staffing issues. On 8 April 2020 the Chancellor announced up to £200 million in funding for hospices, as part of a wider package of £750million for the wider voluntary and charity sector to support hospices in increasing the capacity of NHS services. To deliver this NHS England and NHS Improvement use a national tracker, which reports capacity and staffing levels for the hospice sector, to monitor the effect of COVID-19 on the healthcare system.
Hospices provide high quality support to the families of terminally-ill patients and will continue to do so in alignment with the safety aspects that inform the guidance on social distancing. For example, many are offering online and telephone support to families during this time.
The Department recognises that social distancing rules are impacting community fundraising, including events and the activities of charity shops. To help hospices continue to be financially viable during the pandemic, they are eligible for a range of measures which apply to charities such as having the option to defer their VAT bills to the end of June, paying no business rates for their shops next year and applying for a Business Interruption Loan. Many charity shops are already eligible for 80% charitable rate relief and will benefit from the new enhanced retail rate relief at 100%.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department will publish the criteria being used for charities to receive part of the £360 million direct from Government Departments within the Government’s £750 million charity funding package.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Government departments submitted applications based on their assessment of needs in their relevant sectors. Funding decisions reflect an assessment of the urgency and scale of the need in line with the national response to Covid-19. Departments will follow their own internal processes to distribute grant money directly to charities in the coming weeks.
This funding has been allocated to Government departments in accordance with urgent priorities in their relevant sectors, including up to £200m for the Department of Health and Social Care for hospices. Relevant departments are working to distribute grant money to charities at pace in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's news story entitled, Chancellor sets out extra £750 million coronavirus funding for frontline charities, published on 8 April 2020, what Barnett consequentials will accrue to the Scottish Government in relation to financial support for hospices in Scotland.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The UK government is applying the Barnett formula in the normal way to the additional funding for charities announced by the Chancellor, with the Scottish Government receiving at least £55 million in Barnett consequentials in relation to the £750 million package.
Funding for charities is a devolved matter and it is for the Scottish Government to decide how to support charities in Scotland.