How the Chancellor’s Spring Budget 2023 will affect UK charities

Civil Society News has summarised the following impacts for charities in yesterday’s Spring Budget:

“Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced £100m for charities in this year’s spring budget.

“The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said around three quarters of the funding will be used to deliver grants in 2023-24, targeted at those frontline charities and community organisations most impacted by increased demand for their services from vulnerable people and increased delivery costs. 

“This is likely to include those organisations providing the most vulnerable people with emergency support including accommodation, warmth and food, the department added.

“Around £25m will be used to fund measures over the next two years to increase the energy efficiency and sustainability of voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations. This could include new boilers, heat pumps and insulation allowing them to deliver more efficient services for vulnerable individuals. 

“Hunt also announced an extra £10m over the next two years to charities that address suicide.

“The Treasury announced that tax relief for theatres, orchestras, museums and galleries will stay at rates of 45%-50% until 2025. 

“It announced charitable tax reliefs will be restricted from next month only to UK charities and community amateur sports clubs. “European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) charities that HMRC has previously accepted as qualifying for charity tax reliefs before 15 March 2023, will have a transitional period until April 2024,” the Treasury documents read. It estimates that this will save taxpayers £5m in 2024-25 and £10m a year after that.

“After a campaign from the consumer rights champion Martin Lewis and many charities, Hunt also confirmed that the energy price guarantee will remain at £2,500 until July – it had been set to rise to £3,000.

“Hunt also said he will invest £200m in regeneration projects in England and £400m is being set aside for levelling up projects.”

The full article can be read on the Civil Society News website.

Source: Civil Society