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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will make an assessment of the level of reliance on (a) charities and (b) crisis support organisations in Newcastle as a result of the increased cost of living.

The Government recognises that many charities and crisis support organisations across the country are seeing increased demand, although we have not conducted a specific assessment for Newcastle.

We know that some of this demand is driven by households facing increasing costs, which is why government took action and introduced the Energy Price Guarantee for households and why, in England, an additional £421 million is being provided to extend the Household Support Fund from 01 October 2022 to 31 March 2023.

We are also providing support to all charities, public sector organisations and businesses with their energy costs this winter by offering an energy price guarantee for six months through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. This scheme will benefit charities and community groups across the country, including those operating in Newcastle.

My Department will keep engaging constructively with the civil society sector up and down the country and across government to monitor the impact of levels of demand, and ensure DCMS is engaged on policy which impacts charities and crisis support services.