£750m package for charities will not be enough to save them all, Sunak admits
CHARITIES working on the front line will receive a £750 million rescue package as Rishi Sunak last night admitted he could not save “every single” organisation.
Amid warnings that hundreds of charities are on the verge of collapse due to the nationwide lockdown, the Chancellor confirmed that cash grants would be paid directly to those performing key services.
The bailout is nearly 19 times larger than the £40 million announced by Gordon Brown in 2009 in the wake of the financial crisis.
However, whilst welcoming the announcement, a number of charitable organisations last night warned that it fell short of the estimated £4 billion the sector was due to lose over 12 weeks because of the outbreak.
Barnardo’s, the UK’S largest children’s charity, described the package as “little more than a sticking plaster” and urged ministers to keep funding under review during the ongoing economic downturn.
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations, which represents 14,000 bodies, added: “Today’s announcement is an important first step, though it will not be enough to prevent good charities around the country from closing their doors.
“Even many that survive will look very different in a few months’ time, with a severely reduced capacity to provide the support that people rely on.”
Unveiling the bailout yesterday, Mr Sunak said that £360 million would be directly allocated by government departments across Whitehall, with up to £200 million set aside for hospices.
Another £370 million will be provided for smaller charities, including those delivering food, essential medicines and financial advice. Tens of thousands of charities are expected to benefit, including St John Ambulance’s vulnerable children and victims services, and Citizens Advice, which has experienced a surge in demand due to the economic fallout.
However, larger charities not involved in the coronavirus effort will have to tap into their significant reserves, Whitehall sources indicated, while Mr Sunak stated that the “right answer” for many would be to furlough their employees.
“There are nearly 170,000 charities in this country and the truth is we will not be able to match every pound of funding that they would have received this year,” he said, adding: “I can’t stand here and say I can save every single job, protect every single business, or indeed every single charity.”
The Government has also committed to matching “pound for pound” do
‘I can’t stand here and say I can save every single job, protect every single business, or every single charity’
nations raised by the BBC’S Big Night In, a special fundraising show run by Children in Need and Comic Relief, which will take place on April 23.
Mr Sunak has already pledged a minimum of £20 million towards the fundraiser, which will be allocated to the National Emergencies Trust.
Speaking at the daily coronavirus press briefing, he said: “One of our greatest strengths as a country is civil society, the local charities that provide so much compassion, care and community to the most vulnerable in our country. Some charities are on the front line of fighting the coronavirus, and others provide critical services in support to vulnerable people and communities. For them, shutting up shop at this moment would be to contravene their very purpose, their very reason to exist.
“Those charities have never been more needed than they are now, and they’ve never faced such a sudden fall in their funding. At this time, when many are hurting, tired and confined, we need the gentleness of charities in our lives.”
Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, yesterday announced a welcome £750 million lifeline for charities which feared being forgotten amid the devastating impact of Covid-19 on business and commerce up and down the land. The newspaper industry has not escaped its ravages, either. Advertising revenue has plummeted and the lockdown has hit distribution revenues. This is particularly problematic at a local and regional level, though not exclusively so.
The Government has partially acknowledged these concerns, with plans to spend £7 million on advertising with the regional press over the next three months. But we would urge them to go further, diverting a significant proportion of government media spending to newspapers – perhaps around £45 million – to ensure key public information messages are communicated. Meanwhile, media workers must continue to be considered essential and local authorities should stop withdrawing permits for newspaper deliverers, who are fulfilling an essential service.
The Treasury should also extend the business rates holiday offered to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses to news media publishers. Moreover, employer taxes and Paye/national Insurance contributions should be deferred for news media businesses, and grants of £25,000 made available to smaller local news providers. The VAT exemption for e-newspapers already announced should be brought forward and backdated to the start of the year, with additional targeted tax relief for local publishers who will otherwise not benefit for several years.
This package needs to be in place soon if the local newspaper industry, which plays a critical role in our democratic process, is to survive.