Sunday, September 21, 2025
Government failing the charity sector
The Independent reports that the upshot of all this is that the number of UK charities that have been forced to shut their doors for good has jumped by 74 per cent this year.
The paper adds that the sector has raised fears that people in need will be left without vital support, with Oxfam warning that charities are being “asked to do more with less, at the very moment people need us most”:
There are also concerns that the government’s Employment Rights Bill, which would require charities to guarantee hours for zero-hours staff and pay compensation for cancelled shifts, could further strain charities’ budgets, driving more insolvencies.
Oxfam, which in April said it took the “difficult decision” to put 265 of its 2,100 staff at risk of redundancy, has now warned that charities are being “asked to do more with less, at the very moment people need us most”.
The number of major UK charities, defined as those that recorded revenues of over £50k, shutting down jumped to 151 in 2024/25, up from 87 in 2023/24, according to charity commission data analysed by chartered accountants and business advisers Lubbock Fine.
The firm said the increase in insolvencies reflects a “triple hit” of rising employment costs, stalling donations and reduced government funding.
The surge in closures comes as demand for services such as food banks and counselling programmes is rising, leaving more vulnerable people without essential support.
Earlier this year, Macmillan Cancer Support announced it had axed a quarter of its staff, downgraded its helpline and scrapped its flagship
Data from the Charities Aid Foundation indicated that there are four million fewer individual donors since 2019, while cash donations from British businesses have fallen by around £300m this year compared to last, equating to around 5,455 small charities going unfunded.
This is a very serious trend that needs to be addressed. So much of the work carried out by charities would have to be done by government if they didn't exist. We cannnot afford to lose them.
