Giles Watling, MP for Clacton, has welcomed the £214,454 in Government funding, which has been distributed to local charities in the Clacton constituency.
Drawn from the Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF), worth over £200m, this funding has benefitted eight local charities, including: Baby Bank Tendring (£2,000), Unity Enterprises East Anglia (£9,700), Jaywick Sands Revival Community Interest Company (£7,504), Lads Need Dads CIC (£9,327), Little Pals Children’s Centre Nursery (£46,630), Tendring Mental Health Support (£58,816), Extra - Support For Families (£11,065), and Tendring Community Voluntary Services (£69,412).
Distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund, with a focus on supporting small- and medium-sized charities, the CCSF forms part a crucial part of the Government’s £750 million support package to ensure voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors across the country can continue their vital work during this difficult period. The scheme is one of the most generous in the world and by far the most generous in Europe for the charity sector.
The emergency package was broken down into a number of specific areas, including:
- An immediate allocation of £200 million to hospices across England;
- £200 million to the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund, with a focus on supporting small- and medium-sized charities;
- £160 million to government departments for charities working on the front line of the Covid response, on issues such as tackling domestic violence, supporting the nation’s mental health and protecting vulnerable children;
- £37 million to the BBC’s Big Night In appeal, matching the generosity of the public in raising funds for Children in Need, Comic Relief and the National Emergencies Trust;
- £85 million through DCMS’ Community Match Challenge, which has worked with a range of philanthropists and funders to unlock more than £160m for good causes;
- £60 million to the Devolved Administrations to support charities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland;
- £5 million to the Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership to support volunteers in local areas.
This package builds on £150 million that was released from the Government’s Dormant Assets scheme. These funds were lying unused in dormant accounts and will now support charities, communities and individuals affected by the pandemic. Charities and social enterprises have also used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to enable them to continue their vital work.
In total, Government support for charities has been worth over £1bn, and over 13,000 charities across the country have received funding to continue their vital work, including household names like: St John’s Ambulance, NSPCC, Age UK, Barnardo’s, Fareshare, and the British Red Cross, as well as thousands of smaller local charities.
Speaking about the funding, Giles said:
“It is great news that this support has found its way to our local charities, and I know that more funding will be coming in the future. The work of these charities is incredibly important and valuable for our community, and we need to ensure that they are protected at this time, so they can continue to deliver this value after the pandemic.”
