# Wednesday’s Budget to reveal fate of sector’s SITR & CBILS campaigns

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2021/03/01/wednesdays-budget-to-reveal-fate-of-sitr-cbils-campaigns/
- Published: 2021-03-01T10:11:34+00:00
- Author: Melanie May

**This Wednesday, Spring Budget day, will reveal the fate of the sector’s SITR and
CBILS campaigns.**

 

With the Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) closing
to new applicants at the end of this month and its future uncertain, 33 VCSE organisations
including [Big Society Capital](https://bigsocietycapital.com/), Social Investment
Business, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Charity Bank, have written a letter that
proposes three key asks for Rishi Sunak in advance of the Budget.

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These are:

 

 1. That the successor loan scheme should continue the exemption of creditworthy charities
    from the >50% trading criteria. 
 2. That it should guarantee cover matched to the distinct needs of charities, social
    enterprises, and community businesses.
 3. Without continued access for more social lenders to obtain British Business Bank
    guarantee accreditation or guarantee allocations available to the sector, the scale
    and reach of deployment of funding into charities, social enterprises, and community
    businesses will be limited.

 

The letter says:

 

> “Unlike conventional business, they face a double whammy of rising demand and 
> falling incomes. Government should work with social investors, who disproportionately
> fund organisations in areas of deprivation, to provide accessible and affordable
> financing solutions. While charities, social enterprises, and community businesses
> have demonstrated remarkable resilience during this crisis, they generate less
> surpluses than mainstream SMEs and so will need financial support that is appropriate
> for their specific business models.”

 

As well as the letter, other action has included a meeting with Kevin Hollinrake,
MP and Chair of the cross-party group on Fair Business Banking, which saw Hollinrake
table [three questions](https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions?SearchTerm=coronavirus+business+interruption+loan+scheme&DateFrom=04%2F02%2F2021&DateTo=31%2F03%2F2021&AnsweredFrom=&AnsweredTo=&House=Commons&MemberId=4474&Answered=Any&Expanded=True)
in parliament last month.

 

The second campaign concerns Social Investment Tax Relief, which enables investors
to get 30% off the cost of their investment off their next income tax bill – so 
if an investor put £100 into an eligible organisation they would get £30 back from
government and only £70 of their capital would be at risk. Social enterprises, charities
and community businesses have so far raised £15 million using the relief.

 

The [SAVE SITR](https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fbigsocietycapital.com%2Flatest%2Fsave-social-investment-tax-relief-tax-relief-supporting-community-investment%2F/1/01020177ecf9323f-1e2a5719-f796-461e-8d3a-ebc78ab9277c-000000/rWljS6iV2m5-AsWOd7pYu--V58s=203)
campaign asks for the Government to extend the Social Investment Tax Relief ‘sunset
clause’ for a further five years. With 90% of investments taking place outside of
the capital, the campaign partners, Big Society Capital, Social Enterprise UK, Resonance
and Co-operatives UK, believe extending the tax relief is a simple way for the Government
to support its own Levelling Up agenda.

 

With this campaign, Big Society Capital Chair Sir Harvey McGrath met Treasury Minister
Jesse Norman to discuss the issues last summer and its team are in touch with the
officials working on the relief. Last week they also briefed the special advisors
in Treasury via email.

 

Social Enterprise UK estimates that saving and expanding SITR would create 13,500
more jobs and help 4,000 social enterprises over the next five years. [In a blog](https://bigsocietycapital.com/latest/save-social-investment-tax-relief-tax-relief-supporting-community-investment/),
Big Society Capital Social Sector Engagement Director Mel Mills said that while 
SITR isn’t perfect, scrapping it in the middle of an economic crisis with no alternative
failed to deliver on the Government’s promises to support the UK’s social sector.