There are almost 170,000 charities currently operating in the UK and the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, acknowledged in his daily briefing the challenges the not-for-profit sector was currently facing around funding.

The truth is we can’t match every single penny they would have made this year

The right answer for many charities will be to furlough their employees

Rishi Sunak, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer

However, he went on to say that some charities were on the very frontlines, helping people and communities during the covid-19 crisis so to just let them close would be to contravene their very purpose.

So today I am announcing £750 million for the charity sector.

Some £360 million direct from Government departments will go to charities providing key services, while smaller charities will benefit from £370 million, including through a grant to the National Lottery Community Fund. Around £60 million will go to charities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, while £200 million will go to hospices.

Other money would go to charities including St John’s Ambulance and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

Rishi Sunak, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer

He also confirmed that the Government would match, pound for pound, whatever was raised during the BBC’s upcoming Big Night in Charity appeal.

The UK’s Secretary of State for Health & Social Care, Matt Hancock, also commented that he was delighted that hospices would be receiving up to £200million.

The entire charity sector has stepped up as part of our national effort to tackle coronavirus – from helping our NHS heroes to ensuring the most vulnerable among us are cared for properly.

Hospices have suffered a huge challenge to their funding due to the outbreak of coronavirus, but at the same time continued to play a vital role in delivering compassionate, quality end-of-life care for many people.