To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding he has allocated to civil society and campaigning bodies in each of the last three years.
Answered on
3 March 2020
Civil society forms an essential part of our communities, and encompasses large, national charities, social enterprises, volunteers and small grassroots organisations, but what joins them all is the idea of creating social value to help build a better society. Government funding to civil society is ring-fenced for particular projects or programmes. Grant agreement terms and conditions prohibit grant funding being used for paid for lobbying and political campaigning.
The Government Grants Register holds information on all grant schemes dating from 2013-14, and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-grants-register
The Armed Forces Covenant Fund has £10 million per year to support projects, including funding various charities and support networks, that aim to improve the lives of the Armed Forces Community. The Fund is delivered by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, and Trustees decide on programme recommendations which are submitted to the cross-government Covenant Reference Group (CRG). Following approval by the CRG, these are delivered as priorities. Open and transparent criteria is published in the programme guidance documents and interested organisations apply in line with the published criteria. Applications are assessed, and expert advice may be sought where appropriate. Decisions on grants are made by the Trustees, and when funding is limited, grants are awarded to those applications which are based on a national portfolio perspective. Details on the projects the Trust has funded are available at: https://www.covenantfund.org.uk/grants-weve-funded/
Additionally, Armed Forces related LIBOR grants, including bespoke funds such as the Armed Forces Covenant Fund and Aged Veterans Fund, were committed by HM Treasury and administered by Ministry of Defence. Veterans, emergency services charities and other related good causes benefitted from hundreds of millions of pounds from LIBOR banking fines. With £773 million committed since 2012, the LIBOR grant scheme officially closed in 2017.
Details on the total LIBOR funding allocated to projects by year, has been published at the following links:
2012-2015: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/armed-forces-covenant-libor-fund-successful-projects
2016: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-statement-2016-libor-commitments
2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/libor-funding-applications