The Sue Ryder charity has been campaigning to change Government policy on VAT relief for charities providing hospice care, which has resulted in a proposed amendment to the Health and Social Care Bill.
A new Bill is now moving through Parliament which will make provision for charitable healthcare providers taking on new responsibilities from the NHS.
As part of the health service reforms, more NHS services will transfer to the charity sector, so Sue Ryder is encouraging the Government to put charitable healthcare providers onto an equal footing with the NHS in relation to VAT recovery.
The point of this Bill is to aid cash flows and stem running costs of the Not for Profit organisations undertaking new tasks (e.g., Sue Ryder), where they appear at a financial disadvantage in comparison to NHS bodies performing similar tasks.
It is unclear how this will impact other income streams of the charity sector and how it will be implemented and whether the proposed cost sharing VAT exemption scheme in the next Finance Bill would have any bearing, but we will update you as soon as information is available.
