Treasury announces support for charities and business
The Treasury announced shortly before Christmas a new package of support, totalling £1 billion, aiming to support organisations affected by the disruption and uncertainty of the Omicron variant spread. The new funding consists of:
- £683 million for targeted grants for hospitality and leisure businesses in England
- £102 million top-up for the Additional Restrictions Grant
- £30 million for Culture Recovery Fund
- £154 million of Barnett funding covering all three above
- Funding for the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate scheme will be additional to these amounts
This announcement could benefit charities in the following ways:
Charities with fewer than 250 employees can now claim the costs of up to two weeks of statutory sick pay per employee for Covid-19 sickness. Employers will be able to make a claim through HMRC from mid-January onwards.
Charities and social enterprises in the hospitality and leisure sector can claim grants of between £2.7k-£6k, providing they pay business rates. However, if a charity has claimed over £330k in Covid grants in the last three years, the Government’s subsidy control rules will prevent them from making claims.
The Cultural Recovery Fund has received a £30m top-up designed to support theatres, orchestras, arts venues, and museums. Organisations eligible can apply for between £25k-£3m. Application deadline is 12pm (midday), 28 January 2022. See more here.
Charities are also eligible to receive support from £102 million Additional Restrictions Grant money which is distributed via Local Authorities. This fund aims to support organisations experiencing a severe impact from Covid-19.
NCVO have produced a great Twitter thread summarising what this support will mean for charities and community organisations here.