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.
Notes for editors
1. HMRC’s funding programme is open to applications from social
enterprises, co-operatives, large and small mutuals, in addition
to voluntary and community organisations and charities.
2. HMRC announced its 2011/15 funding programme in January 2011
and invited Voluntary and Community organisations to apply for
grant funding to cover 2011/12 to 2014/15. A list of the
successful organisations, details of their projects and amount of
award are at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vcs/funded-orgs.pdf.
3. HMRC has operated a multi-year funding commitment since
2007/08. The current funding runs over the four years 2011/12 to
2014/15. The programme will continue to:
* Help hard-to-reach
and vulnerable customers get the right entitlements and to pay the
right amount of tax;
* Improve the experience of
hard-to-reach and vulnerable customers in their dealings with
HMRC; and
* Help HMRC to gain a better understanding of the
needs of customers who seek support from the voluntary and
community sector.
4. For further information, see: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vcs/grant-funding-news.htm.
5. Follow HMRC on Twitter @HMRCgovuk
NAT 54/11
Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Press Office
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