To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to provide financial support to the charity-funded research sector during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered on
21 July 2020
On 27th?June, we announced a major package of?support for universities to help them continue research and innovation activities being impacted by Covid-19. This will aim to support the University research base as a whole.?From the Autumn, Government will provide a package consisting of low-interest loans with long pay-back periods, supplemented by a small amount of government grants, to cover up to 80% of a university’s income losses from international students for the academic year 20/21, up to the value of their non-publicly funded research activity, including from charities.
Universities will?be asked?to demonstrate how these funds?are being utilised to sustain research in areas typically funded by charities and business, for example to protect areas of medical research that have been developed in part with support of charities. We continue to engage with the sector as the details of the package are developed.
Charities will also benefit from the £750 million package announced in April to ensure Voluntary, Community and social Enterprises, including medical research charities, can continue their vital work supporting the country during the coronavirus outbreak. Charities also had access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, will pay no business rates for their shops next year and can get a Business Interruption Loan.