Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Third sectorCoronavirusLatest News

Chancellor announces £750m fund for front-line charities

by Ashleigh Webber 9 Apr 2020
by Ashleigh Webber 9 Apr 2020 Aaron Chown/PA Wire/PA Images
Aaron Chown/PA Wire/PA Images

The government will allocate £750m to support charities working on the front line of the coronavirus crisis, chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak announced yesterday (8 April).

Coronavirus support

Chancellor announces grants to cover 80% of wages

Government pledges £350bn cash injection for employers

Budget 2020: Coronavirus sick pay to be covered for SMEs

The funding – which includes a £360m pot that will be allocated to charities directly from government departments and a £370m allocation for smaller charities, including those delivering food and medication – will help charities to continue operating during this challenging period, alongside other schemes to keep their staff employed, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Many larger charities such as Oxfam and Age UK have furloughed swathes of their workforce in order to minimise costs while their incomes have been hit by the crisis.

Sunak said: “Charities can already use many of our existing schemes to support people and protect their staff. All charities are eligible for the job retention scheme, and in line with medical advice, and just like any other employer, the right answer for many charities will be to furlough their employees.

“But some charities are on the front line of fighting the coronavirus, and others provide critical services and support to vulnerable people and communities. For them, shutting up shop at this moment would be to contravene their very purpose; their entire 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.”

The announcement followed a number of other measures to support organisations, including charities, that were unveiled last month, such as the options to defer VAT bills and pay no business rates on their shops next year.

The charities the government intended to support with funding included:

  • hospices, to help increase capacity
  • St Johns Ambulance, to support the NHS
  • victims charities, including domestic abuse, to help with potential increase in demand
  • vulnerable children charities
  • Citizens Advice, to increase the number of staff providing advice to the public.

Tracey Bleakley, CEO of charity Hospice UK, said the funding would allow hospices to keep providing beds, specialist clinical care and staffing to relieve pressure on the NHS.

“Hospice UK is delighted that the government is providing up to £200m of funding per quarter to hospices to help support the NHS and respond to the Covid-19 emergency. This unprecedented funding recognises the vital role that hospices play in supporting the NHS in its fight against Covid-19,” she said.

James Taylor, executive director at disability equality charity Scope, said: “At Scope, we’ve seen the need for our services increase. We’re helping thousands of disabled people and their families with benefit claims, dealing with drops in income, providing support on isolation and loneliness and helping with access to basics like food. At the same time, our income has dried up.

“We sincerely hope this allows the charity sector to continue having an impact on the lives of millions of people in this country.”

Ashleigh Webber
Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is editor at OHW+ and part of the Personnel Today editorial team. Prior to joining Personnel Today in 2018, she covered the road transport sector for Commercial Motor and Motor Transport.

previous post
Coronavirus: How can we prepare for a leader falling ill?
next post
Passport Office moots return to work as ‘we can’t hide forever’

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Police Scotland pays out £948,000 to female officer...

16 May 2022

Gender equality facing growing backlash from male managers

16 May 2022

Lack of flexibility pushes half of women to...

16 May 2022

How firms need to comply with sponsor licence...

16 May 2022

easyJet joins battle for cabin crew with £1,000...

16 May 2022

Ethnicity pay gaps: Not making reporting mandatory is...

16 May 2022

MP demands timeline on carer’s leave legislation

13 May 2022

Employment tribunal: use of word ‘bald’ can amount...

13 May 2022

Rees-Mogg under fire from civil service leader over...

13 May 2022

Prime minister steps up calls for 90,000 civil...

13 May 2022
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+