PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Coronavirus: Charities (19 May 2020)

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.

Asked by:
Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

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:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/22-million-awarded-to-life-saving-health-charities-during-virus-outbreak

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.

Answered by:
Edward Argar (Conservative)
2 June 2020