Charities ‘overlooked and under-recognised’ in Autumn Budget, NCVO says
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, this week presented her Autumn Budget to the House of Commons.
Her speech contained measures to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which has been welcomed by charities, but also a freeze on income tax thresholds until 2031.
Documents released alongside Reeves’ speech revealed the government will introduce already announced VAT relief encouraging businesses to donate everyday items to charity in April.
The government also reiterated its plans to introduce legislation to strengthen charity tax rules on tainted donations, approved investments and non-charitable expenditure, which will also come into force in April, the documents show.
The documents say the government will also introduce legislation to prevent inheritance tax avoidance through certain loopholes, including the restriction of charity exemptions to direct gifts to UK charities and clubs.
But Leigh Brimicombe, executive director of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said it was disappointing that charities “barely feature” in the Autumn Budget.
“The sector adds billions in gross value to the economy and is essential to local growth, neighbourhood health and community connection, yet remains overlooked and under-recognised,” he said.
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MPs back appointment of Dame Julia Unwin as next Charity Commission chair
Unwin, who appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on Tuesday for a pre-appointment hearing, was identified earlier this month as the government’s preferred candidate for the role.
The endorsement of the committee means she is almost certain to be confirmed into the role for the next three years by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Unwin, who was chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation between 2007 and 2016, chaired the two-year Civil Society Futures inquiry, which reported in 2018, and in 2019 was made a dame for services to civil society.
She previously spent five years as a charity commissioner in the 1990s and was a member of the board of the former social housing regulator the Housing Corporation for nine years.
She told MPs at her pre-appointment hearing that the sector is facing a “crisis in trusteeship” and that attracting and retaining trustees was “very high” on her priority list, should she be confirmed into the job.
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For Third Sector’s analysis of what sort of leader she will make, click here.
Charity’s record £2m donation trebles its annual income
A hospital charity has received its largest donation of £2m and said the funds from the “remarkable and incredible” gift would change lives.
ELHT&Me is the official charity of the East Lancashire Hospitals and received the donation from The Kay Family Foundation, a grantmaker that supports charities dedicated to improving people’s health and wellbeing, relieving poverty and promoting community cohesion in the region.
The hospital charity recorded an income of £997,000 and had costs of £968,000 according to its latest accounts, for the year to the end of March 2024.
The £2m funding will be distributed across several hospital departments, enabling enhancements in patient care and cutting-edge technology that will have an impact for years to come, ELHT&Me said.
Denise Barrett-Wilson, head of charity at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said EHLT&Me was “eternally grateful” to the Kay Family Foundation for its “extraordinary generosity” and support of the hospital’s services.