New Philanthropy Capital has published ‘Trusteeship 2010: An update for charity trustees’. This builds on ‘Board matters’, a review of charity trusteeship produced in May 2009 but can be read on its own for a review of developments since then and useful resources for trustees. Registration required to download.
Not new, but news to me (thanks to Dave Hollings for drawing it to our attention):
Regulations from 1989 require local authorities to give at least one year’s notice before reducing or revoking discretionary rate relief, and any change can only take place at the end of a financial year. Keep this in mind if your local authority threatens to reduce or remove discretionary relief. click here
Water companies will be allowed (but not required) to offer concessionary surface water charges for charities and community groups. Consultation on DEFRA guidance for the water companies opened on 12 July. click here
‘Meanwhile’ leases and licences for temporary non-commercial use of vacant shops and land by charities, other voluntary organisations, artists, performers etc. click here
Government reconsidering future of community infrastructure levy, which some local authorities are implementing to replace section 106 agreements. click here
Resources: Updated Planning Aid England website. Information about managing premises, and advertisements for premises available for rent or hire, on new My Community Space website. click here
or go direct to www.rtpi.org.uk/planningaid and
Updated Charity Commission guidance on fundraising.
www.sandy-a.co.uk/managing.htm#cc20
or go direct to www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publications/cc20.aspx?
HMRC eases up slightly on its ‘fit and proper persons’ test, for charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) reclaiming gift aid tax or claiming other tax reliefs and exemptions.
www.sandy-a.co.uk/managing.htm#fitandproper
Guide for claiming gift aid on donations to charity shops
www.sandy-a.co.uk/managing.htm#giftaid-shops
or go direct to www.sayervincent.co.uk/Asp/uploadedFiles/File/Hospice%20shops%20-%20Accounting%20and%20tax%20issues.pdf
Gambling Commission advice on competitions, draws and lotteries
www.sandy-a.co.uk/managing.htm#gamblingcommission
Revised guidance on when ‘administrative’ telephone calls can be made to supporters.
Despite what you may have read or heard in the media, the vetting and barring (VBS) scheme has not been scrapped – some aspects of it have been put on hold while it is reviewed.
Despite what it says on the Business Link website and probably in other places as well, compulsory registration with the Independent Safeguarding Authority is not, at least for the moment, going ahead in November. All registrations – both voluntary from 26 July and compulsory from November – are on hold.
From the morass of contradictory and confusing information I have tried to extract what I think is an accurate summary of which aspects of the VBS are already in place and will remain in place, which are suspended while the scheme is being reviewed and “remodelled” as announced on 15 June, and which are subject to consultations that started before the review was announced.
I will keep the website up to date and let you know of any changes..
Summary of recent VBS changes, the current review of the scheme, and Home Office guidance on the scheme as a whole and on safeguarding during the review period.
www.sandy-a.co.uk/employment.htm#vbs
Changes to the definition of regulated activity (including charity trustees) following the Singleton review.
www.sandy-a.co.uk/employment.htm#regulatedactivity
Registration of health and adult social care providers with the Care Quality Commission – from 1 October.
What a marathon task! Sany has summarised what she thinks are the main points of the Equality Act 2010 that voluntary organisations need to know about as employers and providers of services, facilities and goods, and have listed some action points.
www.sandy-a.co.uk/employment.htm#equality-act
Under the Act, charities set up only for beneficiaries with a specific protected characteristic (e.g. age; disability; gender; race, including nationality, ethnic origin or national origin; religion/belief; sex) may need to show that this restriction is justifiable. The Equality and Human Rights Commission and Charity Commission are looking at what this will mean in practice, so don’t panic yet. (But maybe start panicking a little bit if you’re not sure you could, if you had to, justify the restriction on your beneficiaries.)
www.sandy-a.co.uk/employment.htm#equality-charities
Although the new government has made a commitment to promoting equal pay, it may not implement the provisions on gender pay gap reporting. In the meantime, the EHRC has issued proposals for how employers might report the gap.
www.sandy-a.co.uk/employment.htm#genderpaygap
By Sandy Adirondack