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<p>It is not within DCMS’s gift to grant charitable status on a temporary basis and
there are no plans to widen the definition of charity. Some music venues, community
sporting venues and amateur sports clubs already qualify for charitable status and
can therefore benefit from gift aid on donations. In England and Wales, charitable
status is dependent on meeting the definition of a charity set out by Parliament in
the Charities Act 2011. The advancement of arts, culture or amateur sport for the
public benefit are determined to be charitable purposes within scope of the Charities
Act 2011. To meet the definition of charity, organisations must exist for public benefit
rather than private benefit. Further detail is set out in the Charity Commission’s
Guidance on ‘Charitable Purposes’.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Arts and sporting
organisations can benefit from the broad range of support the Government has made
available to support organisations through the crisis, including the Coronavirus Job
Retention Scheme. In addition to the £750 million funding package the Government has
provided specifically for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations,
the Government has unlocked £150 million from dormant bank and building society accounts,
part of which will provide emergency loans for civil society organisations and improve
the availability of fair, affordable credit to people in vulnerable circumstances.</p><p><strong>
</strong></p><p>The Government has also provided more targeted provision to support
arts and sporting organisations through the crisis. On the 5th July, the Government
announced a £1.57bn targeted rescue package to protect the arts, cultural and heritage
industry. This represents the largest one off investment in culture, and will include
investment in music venues to ensure future sustainability of the sector. Sport England
has provided up to £210m of funding to support community and grassroots clubs facing
financial challenges over the period of the COVID-19 crisis. This includes £35m of
public funding under the banner of Community Emergency Funding (CEF) available to
community clubs.</p><p><strong><br></strong><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charitable-purposes/charitable-purposes#the-advancement-of-the-arts-culture-heritage-or-science"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charitable-purposes/charitable-purposes#the-advancement-of-the-arts-culture-heritage-or-science</a>.</p>
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