Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how the £750 million in funding for charities, voluntary sector organisations and the social enterprise sector is being disbursed; and what steps he is taking to ensure that funding is allocated equitably across the UK.

Of the £750 million, £360m will be allocated by central government to charities in England. This will include up to £200m support for hospices, with the rest going to organisations including St Johns’ Ambulance and the Citizens Advice Bureau as well as charities supporting vulnerable children and victims of domestic abuse. Government Departments have made bids identifying which charities will require their support. The bids are currently being assessed with departments, No 10 and the Treasury.

A further £370m will support smaller, local charities working with vulnerable people. In England, £310m of this will be provided through the National Lottery Community Fund. To ensure funding is distributed equitably, £60m of this amount will be allocated through the Barnett formula so the devolved administrations are funded to provide similar support in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Finally, the remainder of the amount is Government match funding of the money raised during the BBC’s Big Night in. The first £20m of this will go to the National Emergencies Trust and the remainder will go through the BBC charities who will be administering this funding.