Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, unveiled his Spring Budget in the House of Commons last week, with an extension to the furlough scheme and social investment tax relief amongst the biggest announcements affecting charities and voluntary organisations.
A number of charity sector organisations, many of which had been calling for additional measures to support voluntary sector organisations during the ongoing pandemic, have criticised the lack of announcements in the Spring Budget to support charities. The charity leaders body ACEVO said the government was “taking the charity sector for granted”, while the Charity Finance Group said the government had “once again failed to recognise the vital role civil society plays.”
Some of the main announcements from the budget affecting charities and other not for profit organisations have been summarised below:
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been used by thousands of charities, will be extended until September. Employers will be asked to pay 10% toward the costs of furloughed employees in July 2021, rising to 20% in August and September 2021
Social investment tax relief, which was due to end in April 2021 will be extended for a further two years
A new £150m Community Ownership Scheme will offer match-funding of up to £250,000 for people to purchase local assets of value to their community, such as pubs or Post Offices
An extra £300m will go into the government’s £1.6bn Culture Recovery Fund, designed to help arts and cultural organisations through the pandemic. There will also be a further £90m for government-sponsored museums and cultural bodies in England
Charities that run shops or other retail schemes could be eligible for “restart” grants of up to £6,000 to help them reopen
There will be an additional £19m to support domestic abuse programmes and £10m to support armed forces veterans with mental health issues
The government will extend the apprenticeship hiring incentive scheme in England to September 2021 and increase the payment to £3,000
The maximum amount for contactless payments will increase from £45 to £100, which will affect the amounts charities could take through contactless donations
Whilst senior figures in the charity sector had hoped that the budget would include further support for the sector, it is imperative that charitable organisations maximise the use of the funding and support measures that are available to them.
Although the Prime Minister has recently announced a roadmap for the release of restrictions, it remains an incredibly challenging time for charitable organisations operating across various sectors. A large number of charities have needed to dip into their reserves in order to keep operating over the past twelve months and it remains key that the management and trustees for all organisations closely manage cash and future cashflows.
If you require any further advice or support with regards to funding available to your organisation please get in contact with Ross Preston, Head of Not for Profit.
