£2m Boost For Voluntary Sector

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has pledged £2m a year for the next four years to support people needing help with their taxes, benefits and tax credits.

The department has awarded 17 grants to 10 Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations working across the UK.

In this funding round HMRC is seeking to build on achievements across the sector in previous years, increasing both the reach and numbers of vulnerable people that the VCS will be able to support.

Stephen Banyard, Acting Director General for Personal Tax, said: “The money goes to provide independent, trustworthy support for vulnerable people and those on low incomes, to help sort out their entitlements and tax problems.

“The organisations we are funding provide support to people who may not normally come to HMRC for help and advice but who may need a helping hand understanding what benefits and credits they are entitled to claim and how the tax system affects them. For example, some of the funding will go to organisations such as Citizens Advice and Tax Help for Older People, who can help those who have worries about their finances and taxes.”

Part of the funding goes to new ways of providing support - for example, a project piloting video link-ups from a number of locations throughout England to the charity TaxAid’s specialist advisers. Funding also goes to VCS training - for example, Gingerbread will deliver training courses in Tax Credits for advisers working with lone parents.

(BMcN/GK)