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The chancellor urged to 'act on these warnings' as the average food bank donation 'drops from £20 to £10' Jeremy Hunt will present his new budget this week Pressure is mounting on Jeremy Hunt to provide targeted support to charities in his next budget, as new data has revealed how falling donations are failing to keep up with growing demand.
The Chancellor was warned just days ago that half of charities fear they will not survive as the inflation crisis spikes the cost of energy, rent and supplies.
A group of more than 30 organizations wrote to the chancellor last week urging him to issue specific funds to charities to support energy costs and increase government contract payments in line with inflation.
Among the signatories was the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), which published a new YouGov survey online on Tuesday suggesting the average donation to food banks has halved from £20 in December to just £10 in February. .
The proportion of people who reported donating money to food banks also decreased over the same period, from 24% to 14%.
The new study found that 19% of respondents now say they have friends and family facing food poverty, up from 12% in July.
On the ground, this translates to increased pressure on these vital services: a Manchester-based charity tells CAF demand is up 37% and an east London food bank reports demand has duplicate.
Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak buy sweets during a visit to a community project
"The situation facing food banks illustrates the challenges facing charities across the country due to rising costs," said the group's chief executive, Neil Heslop. "They have intensified this winter, now the chancellor should help them.
Describing this week's budget as an opportunity to "recognize the vital contribution charities have made through the cost of living crisis", Mr Heslop said: "Instead of cutting the aid they receive towards costs of energy as expected, you are expected to announce specific support to give them a breather and help them through this period of great uncertainty.
As costs rise charities, unlike businesses, cannot pass those costs on to consumers. Some said they had reduced their food supply from a week to three days, or from two bags of food to a week, according to the CAF.
A survey of more than 1,300 organizations across the UK over the past four months found that half had to use their financial reserves to cover day-to-day running costs, while 53% were concerned about their survival.
This figure rose to 71% among charities providing services to people with disabilities, children or the elderly, while charities in the north of England were much more likely to experience increased demand and be forced to dip into their reserves. than in other parts of the world. country.
Mr Heslop added: “Imagine what this winter would have been like without charities helping people day after day with food, shelter and care. Even as the economic outlook looks better than expected, charities are saying loud and clear that they still face pressure.
Warning that "the risk here is real", the chief executive of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, Sarah Vibert, said: "For every charity that closes, an entire community of people has the rug pulled out from under their feet." Even reduced services can have a detrimental effect on people's lives.
“We need the Chancellor to act on these warnings and provide urgent help to the voluntary sector.”
A government spokesman said: "Putin's illegal war in Ukraine is driving up prices around the world and many charities are seeing increased demand for their services as they grapple with rising prices.
“We are doing everything we can and have taken immediate and unprecedented action to support domestic and non-domestic energy consumers, including charities, with their bills over the winter. And last week we also announced that we had released £76m tied up in dormant accounts to support vulnerable people with the cost of living.
Christopher Furlong/PA Wire
Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire
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