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<p>British Muslims, like many faith communities across the country, have responded during the COVID 19 pandemic to support their neighbours, communities and the most vulnerable. We welcome the Muslim communityâs continued contributions to our shared national effort and know this will take on a special meaning during Ramadan.</p><p>The coronavirus pandemic has, however, challenged many parts of our daily life and means that Muslims in the UK and around the world will not be able to mark Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr in the way they would normally do and are instead finding ways to do this virtually, including charitable work, such as fundraising, that would have otherwise been done in person.</p><p>Charities can access many of the support measures the Chancellor has announced for businesses, including deferring their VAT bills, paying no business rates on charity shops next year, and furloughing staff with the Government paying 80 per cent of their wages. Further details can be found at <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fcollections%2Ffinancial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19&data=02%7C01%7CSean.Bianco%40communities.gov.uk%7C5d47466958f44f6f3fd708d7e60b8f10%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637230809626631568&sdata=3AHSxkBgcXY%2BD%2B0XSOGOtNhL461a7j%2FxklUUJn3D9vw%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19</a></p><p>However, we know that some charities cannot furlough staff as they are contributing to the frontline response. That is why the Chancellor on 9 April announced £750 million of funding for charities providing key frontline services to vulnerable people affected by the pandemic. Further details can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-sets-out-extra-750-million-coronavirus-funding-for-frontline-charities" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-sets-out-extra-750-million-coronavirus-funding-for-frontline-charities</a></p><p>The Government continues to engage with a range of faith groups, including Muslim community representatives, to maintain a complete picture of the impact of coronavirus and understand how we can support them to respond to the pressures they may be facing.</p> |