Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector.

Charity Commission

Campaigning

Civil Society Media has reported that the Charity Commission has described the RSPB's recent tweet calling government ministers "liars" a "serious mistake", although no formal regulatory outcome has yet been published. Bates Wells senior associate Suhan Rajkumar doesn't agree, commenting in the article that despite the risk of misinterpretation, "[i]t is difficult to see how RSPB's commentary, clearly tied to a live and relevant policy decision, would breach the prohibition against party political activity."

New inquiry

The Commission has announced that it has opened an inquiry into Water for Africa, a charity working to provide water, sanitation and healthcare in West Africa, after failure to submit accounts and concerns surrounding financial controls.

Helen Stephenson announcement

Charity Commission CEO Helen Stephenson has announced that she is stepping down next summer after seven years in office.

Mergers

With many institutions still recovering from the pandemic – and now with the cost-of-living crisis – an increasing number of organisations are looking at new ways of working and are exploring the possibility of merger. We've put together a quick guide outlining the main things to consider.

Sector General

Civil Society Media reports that the Labour Party has named Lilian Greenwood as its shadow civil society minister as part of the opposition party's reshuffle.

CFG and Utility Aid are working together to understand the energy needs of the sector. In preparation for an event on 31 October, they are asking charities to complete this survey.

AI

What's on the horizon for AI regulation? Read our update on the changing regulatory landscape for AI and what businesses can do to mitigate the risks posed by AI tools.

The House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee has published an interim report based on input from its inquiry into the governance of AI. It identifies 12 challenges which must be met through domestic policy and international engagement including that AI can introduce or perpetuate biases, that AI can generate deliberately misleading material and that government policy should consider whether AI providers are liable if their models cause harm. The report urges the government to confirm whether AI-specific legislation, such as the introduction of a legal requirement for regulators to pay due regard to the AI white paper principles, will be introduced in the next Parliament. The government's response to the interim report is due by 31 October 2023. The inquiry is continuing, and a further report will be published in due course.

Campaigning and political activity

See above under Charity Commission.

The CEO's of ACEVO and NCVO have responded to comments made by the home secretary in The Telegraph on Thursday 24 August (as well as in other media outlets recently), that charities campaigning on refugee and migration issues are acting against the interests of the British public and 'masquerading as humanitarians' or as 'one of a multitude of forces who wish to thwart... government policy'. The CEOs say this is insulting to the committed professionals and volunteers in our sector and suggests an intention to encroach on and limit the sector's legally defined rights and legitimate role in public discourse.

The Committee on Standards in Public Life will be holding a short evidence gathering seminar on lobbying on 21 September 2023. The seminar will explore how the rules are working in practice, and examine the government's recent proposals around current transparency and governance arrangements. It will also consider the access provided by All Party Parliamentary Groups.

Freedom of speech

The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, also known as the Anti Boycott Bill is now making its way through parliament. This is a Bill designed to prevent public bodies from imposing their own boycott or divestment campaigns against foreign countries and territories. As this Bond blog points out "In reality, the Anti-Boycott Bill will prevent local authorities, universities, and other public bodies from pursuing investment and procurement policies that align with their environmental and human rights obligations."

Safeguarding

Civil Society Media reports the Church of England's national safeguarding team has concluded its investigation into the founder of a Christian charity who was accused of giving "inappropriate massages". CSM says the investigation found that the concerns are "substantiated" saying that the founder "used his spiritual authority to control people".

Prevent duty

Refreshed draft Prevent duty guidance was published last week and, subject to Parliamentary approval, it comes into force on 31 December 2023. Government says this guidance will help frontline professionals in healthcare, education, local authorities, prisons, probation and the police comply with the Prevent duty. The changes include:

  • Delivery of Prevent has moved from a national to a regional model which provides support for all local authorities in England and Wales. The areas with the highest radicalisation risk will also receive multi-year funding to combat the local threat.
  • Strengthened due diligence checks on civil society organisations to ensure that "under no circumstances will Prevent work with or fund those who legitimise or support extremists".
  • New training being provided to civil society organisations to tackle antisemitism.

Fundraising

Code of Fundraising Practice

The Fundraising Regulator has begun a 12-week consultation as part of its ongoing review of the Code of Fundraising Practice. The changes include:

  • Moving towards a more concise, principles-based framework – so that current rules on a similar theme e.g. being polite and respectful when fundraising are replaced by a single principle.
  • Expanding the code to cover new areas – topics being consulted on include: contactless donations, 'Round up' donations, cryptocurrencies and NFTs, online fundraising platforms, social media, gaming and streaming, protecting fundraisers, modern slavery as part of supply chains, use of funds where a fundraising appeal is unsuccessful. The consultation also flags these topics as issues for future consideration: AI, appropriate times for fundraising activity and appropriate ages for fundraising activity.
  • Amending some existing rules.
  • Replacing rules which relate to legislation outside the FR's remit with signposting to guidance from the relevant alternative regulator or legislative body. For example, signposting to the Information Commissioner's Office for data protection related issues or to HMRC for Gift Aid related issues.

Throughout the consultation period which runs until 1 December 2023, respondents can share their views on as many or as few of the proposals as they wish. Responses can be made online. The FR is inviting all those interested in charitable fundraising to share their views on proposed changes to the code.

Bates Wells partner Hannah Lyons comments, "The consultation is thorough. We welcome the move to a more concise and principals based system given that it's difficult to completely 'future proof' the Code and take account of all potential innovations in the future. We encourage charities to respond and will be holding an event in October to discuss the proposed changes in more detail."

Fundraising Regulator

The FR has published the latest version of its Business Plan 2023/24, setting out detailed information on how it will achieve its key objectives and budget for the coming year.

Funders

NPC has published a new paper on equitable evaluation, which advocates using evaluation as a tool for advancing equity. The paper introduces the ideas that underpin equitable evaluation, sets out the key issues, highlights the benefits that can arise from equitable evaluation, and outlines principles to consider. It argues that funders should adopt more equitable evaluation methods to confront power dynamics, avoid bias, and achieve greater impact.

Data protection

New ICO guidance

The ICO has published:

  • New guidance to help organisations understand the law and good practice around protecting personal information when sending bulk emails. The guidance warns organisations to use alternatives to the blind carbon copy (BCC) email function when sending emails containing sensitive personal information. According to ICO data, failure to use BCC correctly is consistently within the top 10 non-cyber breaches, with nearly a thousand reported since 2019. The education sector is the biggest offender for BCC breaches, with health in second, then local government, then retail and then the charity sector in fifth place.
  • Detailed guidance which explains an employer's data protection obligations when they process health data concerning their workers. Health data is categorised as special category personal data and is granted enhanced protection under the UK GDPR. There is also a set of checklists included to give employers an overview and quick guide to help run through their data protection considerations whenever they need to process workers' health information.

Northern Ireland

CCNI has announced plans to move closer to an open charity registration process, by phasing out what is known as the "combined list" – a list of all organisations the Commission is aware of, which may be charities but have not been registered yet. Under an open registration process, any organisation wanting to register can apply, rather than waiting to be invited to apply as has been the case to date.

Local authorities

See above under Prevent duty.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published new guidance "Advancing equality through major investment projects" aimed at local and combined authorities across England.

Health and social care

See above under Prevent duty.

The government has launched a new National Suicide Prevention Strategy. Over 100 measures have been outlined in the strategy including:

  • A new national alert system to notify relevant authorities – like schools, universities, and charities – of emerging methods of suicides and risks, and any required actions that can reduce access or limit awareness.
  • Fresh guidance issued to first responders, recognising new and emerging methods and how such incidents should be dealt with.

Housing

The Regulator of Social Housing has published a consultation on changes to its fees regime. The changes mean that, with effect from 1 July 2024:

  • Registered providers will be expected to pay for the full cost of regulation.
  • Local authorities will be required to pay fees for the cost of regulating that part of the social housing sector.

Responses to the consultation should be posted online or emailed by 31 October 2023.

Social enterprise

'Can social enterprise be the solution to "broken" university sector finances?' Dr Eric Lybeck, lecturer and Fellow at the University of Manchester, writes for Social Enterprise Mark CIC about the "looming financial crisis in top-tier research universities", and how investment and engagement with social entrepreneurship may help solve this issue.

The shortlist for the UK Social Enterprise Awards has been announced, including two previous Bates Wells Foundation's Stephen Lloyd Awards finalists – Breadwinners and Standing Tall!

The Regulator of Community Interest Companies has announced updates to its complaints process, intended to streamline its procedure for anyone wishing to raise concerns about CICs.

Social investment/social impact investment

Social Investment Forum (SIF) analysis shows 43% of social investment deals have gone to Levelling Up Priority 1 areas. SIF has a new dashboard analysing the geographic distribution of social investment, which shows that a total of £521m across almost 2000 deals has gone to Priority 1 areas, although total investment value is lower compared to more affluent areas. You can view the dashboard here.

Faith based organisations

See above under Safeguarding.

Sport

The Government has published a new sport strategy 'Get Active: A strategy for the future of sport and physical activity'. It sets national participation targets of an additional 2.5 million adults and 1 million children active by 2030 and also proposes a review of the responsibilities of sport governing bodies around integrity issues, such as misconduct (including bullying, discrimination and safeguarding issues), doping and corruption, and the mechanisms for raising complaints and how disputes are resolved at elite and grassroots level. To support the review, the government has published a call for evidence with a focus on organised recreational sport, talent pathway programmes, Olympic and Paralympic sport and professional sport. The call for evidence will remain open for responses until 11 October. A Government response is expected to be published later this year.

International development

See above under Freedom of speech.

Education

See above under Health, Prevent duty and Data protection.

Early years

Ofsted have published the second part in its series of research reviews relating to early years education. The report finds that a strong foundation in early years is crucial to children's success, and that frequent interactions between children and adults are fundamental to development and learning. Read the press release here.

Schools

The DfE is trying to crack down on school absences by moving ahead with its plan for an e-register mandate, giving Education Secretary Gillian Keegan access to live absence rates. It has published a response to its consultation on the changes and will enforce the new rules from September 2024 at the earliest. See this Schools Week article for further commentary.

The DfE has published guidance for responsible bodies and education settings with confirmed RAAC in their buildings, aimed at local authorities, academy trusts and governing bodies where state funded education institutions have confirmed or suspected RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) in their buildings. A list of schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC has been published, with the figure being less than 1%.

The National Governance Association has released its Annual Governance Survey 2023 which reveals trends in behaviour and safeguarding alongside budget and financial worries. Read NGA's press release here.

Further Education

The first in a new series of further education workforce data for the academic year 2021/22 has been published by the DfE. It covers ethnicity, gender and financial information – see FE Week's article on 8 key findings from the data.

Higher Education

Office for Students CEO Susan Lapworth has published an article reflecting on their refreshed approach to engaging with providers and setting out plans for the future. Read the article here.

Research

The Guardian has this useful summary "What does rejoining EU's Horizon scheme mean for UK research and innovation?"

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