Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to extend the health and care visa to include roles in disability charities and hospices that are not direct NHS sub-contractors.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The eligibility criteria for the Health and Care Visa are set out in the published Tier 2 policy guidance. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/points-based-system-tier-2.
A number of health occupations, for example nurses, are eligible for the visa by virtue of being registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. This means they will be eligible to apply, even if the organisation is not a direct NHS sub-contractor.
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, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the financial sustainability of (a) civil society organisations and (b) charities in (i) Wolverhampton South West and (ii) England during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government has made available an unprecedented £750 million package of support, specifically for charities, social enterprises and the voluntary sector. This will ensure charities and other civil society organisations, including those at risk of financial hardship, can continue their vital work during the Covid-19 outbreak.
£200 million of this money is being distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund through the Coronavirus Community Support Fund which is mainly targeting smaller and local VCSE organisations. Under the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, a total of 518 awards valued at £12.36 million has been allocated to organisations in the West Midlands, as at 28th August 2020.
£360 million has been allocated by central government departments with £200 million of this directly supporting hospices across the country. From this money, a total of 40 awards to the value of £3.1 million have been allocated to organisations in the West Midlands, as at 28th August 2020.
A further £4.8 million will be distributed to the Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership - a group that comes together to improve national and local coordination before, during and after emergencies - to help strengthen the voluntary sector’s response to coronavirus and future emergencies.
To support the BBC’s 'Big Night In', the Government matched the generous donations of the public across the country with grants to the National Emergencies Trust working in Partnership with the UK Community Foundations (£20million) and to the remaining £17million being shared by Comic Relief and Children in Need. £1.14 million from the National Emergencies Trust grant was allocated to the Heart of England Community Foundation. Under the National Emergencies Trust, Comic Relief and Children in Need grants, a total of 125 awards valued at £723,029 have been made to organisations in the West Midlands as at 28th August 2020.
The ‘Community Match Challenge’ which is matching funds raised by philanthropists, foundations and grant making organisations will further support small to medium sized organisations from across the country working with those who are most vulnerable and have been hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak. This Fund closed for bids on 2nd August and the outcome will be announced shortly.
In addition to the £750million, a further £150m has been unlocked from dormant bank and building society accounts which will be directed to charities, social enterprises and individuals.
Finally, civil society organisations and charities can access additional business support measures including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Bounce Back Loans.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the £750 million package of support for charities has been allocated to ophthalmology charities.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise that many charities are facing difficult decisions at the exact time their services are needed most and, on 8 April 2020 the Chancellor announced £750 million to support for the charity sector in response to COVID-19. This includes up to £200 million for hospices and £22 million for health and social care charities. The £22 million includes:
- £4.2 million to support mental health charities and charities within the National Bereavement Alliance;
- Up to £6.8 million to support St John Ambulance;
- £6 million to support Air Ambulances;
- £6 million to support various charities, including those working with people with learning disabilities, autism and complex needs, those working to support people with cancer and stroke and dementia charities, and those that support the adult social care system; and
- This funding will also go to charities supporting pregnant women, babies in neonatal intensive care and those affected by stillbirth and neonatal deaths and support for specialist addiction and recovery charities.
To this date there has been no funding agreed for ophthalmology charities.
There is still an opportunity for charities to apply directly for funding from the National Lottery’s £200 million Coronavirus Community Support Fund. This fund is supporting charities working with vulnerable people. The criteria for this fund are set out at the following link:
https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to allocate funding to ensure that ophthalmology charities can continue to run their services.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise that many charities are facing difficult decisions at the exact time their services are needed most and, on 8 April 2020 the Chancellor announced £750 million to support for the charity sector in response to COVID-19. This includes up to £200 million for hospices and £22 million for health and social care charities. The £22 million includes:
- £4.2 million to support mental health charities and charities within the National Bereavement Alliance;
- Up to £6.8 million to support St John Ambulance;
- £6 million to support Air Ambulances;
- £6 million to support various charities, including those working with people with learning disabilities, autism and complex needs, those working to support people with cancer and stroke and dementia charities, and those that support the adult social care system; and
- This funding will also go to charities supporting pregnant women, babies in neonatal intensive care and those affected by stillbirth and neonatal deaths and support for specialist addiction and recovery charities.
To this date there has been no funding agreed for ophthalmology charities.
There is still an opportunity for charities to apply directly for funding from the National Lottery’s £200 million Coronavirus Community Support Fund. This fund is supporting charities working with vulnerable people. The criteria for this fund are set out at the following link:
https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the £750 million Government financial support announced for charities in response to the covid-19 outbreak has been paid out; and to how many charities that funding has been allocated.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Of the £750m of financial support for charities during the Covid-19 crisis, £360m was committed to be distributed by other government departments, which includes £200m to be distributed to hospices via the Department for Health & Social Care. Currently, over £150m has been dispersed for hospices. Of the remaining £160m allocated to other government departments, £59.4m has been distributed.
£310m of the £750m total was committed to support small and medium charities in England during the Covid-19 crisis. Of this, £200m has been allocated to the Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF) which is being distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund. To date, 934 grants have been awarded to charities and social enterprises in England, totalling approximately £20m. Of this, payments have been made to 463 organisations, totalling £5,163,403.
We are continuing to review the early findings from the distribution of the Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF) to ensure that the remaining £110m is utilised in the most effective way, addressing emerging priorities.
Lastly, the government committed to match-fund the £36.5m raised during the BBC Big Night In. To date, £21.9m has been disbursed to our partners (NET & Comic Relief). Please note that no funds have been distributed to Children in Need yet.
We have published clear and comprehensive guidance on the full £750 million package of support for charities 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
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what financial support is available for health and social care charities during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
On 8 April, the Chancellor announced £750 million to support the charity sector in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This fund comprises three elements:
- £360 million has been allocated by central Government to charities in England based on evidence of service need, including £22 million for health and social care charities and £200 million for hospices;
- £370 million to support charities working with vulnerable people. In England, £200 million of this support will be provided through the National Lottery Community Fund’s “Coronavirus Community Support Fund”, which charities can apply directly for. This will provide support for thousands of charities on the frontline of helping vulnerable people affected by COVID-19; and
- The Government will match whatever the public decides to donate to the BBC Big Night In fundraising event that 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 and 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: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the Government's £750 million support package for charities has been allocated.
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.
£360 million of this has been distributed to individual government departments based on evidence of service need. This includes £200 million to directly support hospices, which is being administered by the Department of Health and Social Care. Departments are using a range of approaches to allocating the remaining funding in order to meet identified needs quickly, including bidding processes and awarding funding directly. As applications are still open for several of the open funds, it is not possible to determine how much of this funding has been received by charities at this stage.
£370 million has been allocated to support small and medium sized charities during the pandemic. This includes £60 million funding through the Barnett formula to support charities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Of the £310 million to be spent in England, £200 million has been distributed to the National Lottery Community Fund to award grants through the Coronavirus Community Support Fund. Applications for this fund opened on 22 May.
In addition, the Government is matching public donations to the BBC Big Night In. The first £20 million of match funding went to the National Emergencies Trust. The 47 local Community Foundations across the UK, including Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland will then provide grant funding to eligible organisations within their community.
Further information on available funds and how to apply for them can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/financial-support-for-voluntary-community-and-social-enterprise-vcse-organisations-to-respond-to-coronavirus-covid-19.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the £160 million announced for charities due to the financial effect of the covid-19 outbreak will be received by charities.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government has announced a £750m 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. St John Ambulance has been allocated £6.8m, which has already supported an increased operational response. Charities can now apply on gov.uk for £10m to support victims of domestic abuse and £6m to support members of the armed forces and veterans. A further £310m will support smaller, local charities, including through grants distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund. £60m will be allocated to the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula. The Government pledged to match whatever the public donated to the BBC Big Night In fundraiser on 23 April, with a minimum of £20m going to the National Emergencies Trust.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ensure that local authorities are provided with sufficient funding to provide grants to all charities in receipt of charitable rate relief.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government is aware that some small businesses and organisations have found themselves excluded from the existing business grants schemes because of the way they interact with the business rates system. That is why the Government has allocated up to an additional £617 million to Local Authorities to enable them to give discretionary grants to organisations in this situation. The Government’s intention is for Local Authorities to prioritise the following types of organisation when making discretionary grants:
Local Authorities may choose to focus payments on those priority groups which are most relevant to their local areas. Local Authorities may also choose to pay grants to organisations outside of these priority groups, according to local economic need, so long as the organisation was trading on 11th March, and has not received any other cash grant funded by central Government (with the exception of grants from the SEISS).
In addition, the Government has announced a £750m 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. A further £310m will support smaller, local charities, including through grants distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund. £60m will be allocated to the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula. The Government pledged to match whatever the public donated to the BBC Big Night In fundraiser on 23 April, with a minimum of £20m going to the National Emergencies Trust.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the £360 million allocated to charities to help mitigate the effect of the covid-19 outbreak has been allocated to disability charities.
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. £360 million of this is being distributed via individual government departments based on evidence of service need. £200 million 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 the remaining 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 announcements from individual departments are expected shortly. Further information has been released on GOV.UK.
As applications are still open for several of the funds and there are announcements yet to be made, it is not possible to determine how much of this funding has been allocated to disability charities at this stage. Disability charities will be eligible for a range of the funds.
On 20 May the government committed £200 million to the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, which will be distributed by the National Lottery Community Foundation. The fund will support small and medium sized charities and social enterprises and will be open for applications on 22 May. Disability charities will be eligible to apply for this funding.