Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector
Charity Commission
Five-year strategy
The Charity Commission has published its new five-year strategy, setting out its core purpose and strategic priorities for 2024-2029. In a press release announcing the strategy, the regulator says that the strategy was informed and guided by the challenges brought by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and the disruption brought by the pandemic, and the potential opportunities – and corresponding risks – afforded by rapidly changing technology in the period ahead. The Commission's five priorities are:
- to be fair and proportionate in its work, and clear about its role
- to support charities to get it right, while taking robust action where it sees wrongdoing and harm
- to speak with authority and credibility, free from the influence of others
- to embrace technological innovation and strengthen its use of data
- to be an expert Commission where its people are empowered and enabled to deliver excellence in regulation
In a speech delivered at an event in London, Commission Chair Orlando Fraser reiterated previous messaging that the regulator must be an expert Charity Commission that is fair, balanced, and independent so that charity can thrive, and that he will not allow the Commission to be misused or weaponised by those fighting 'culture wars'. Commentary on the speech is available in Civil Society.
Return of cultural artefacts
The Guardian reports here that Westminster Abbey has agreed "in principle" to returning a sacred tablet to the Ethiopian Orthodox church.
Governance
The Young Trustees Movement is launching its latest initiative – the Model Boardroom Series, an interactive tool which invites you into the boardroom to role play real-life scenarios commonly encountered in the boardroom. Young trustees or potential trustees can sign up to the Model Boardroom Series here.
Joe Saxton, the new Chair of the Association of Chairs, has published Part 2 of his blog on the differences between staff and trustees, in which he looks at the unique features of trustee boards.
Sector General
NCVO has published its latest Road Ahead report, looking at what the next 12 months has in store for charities in six areas: political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal. Some key takeaways are:
- NCVO are working with ACEVO to develop a voluntary sector manifesto;
- There is uncertainty for charities with the upcoming general election, which will have wide implications for the sector. Charities will be under more scrutiny, particularly when campaigning and advocating on social media;
- High inflation and interest rates combined with increased pressure on household budgets mean the tough economic climate for charities will most likely continue;
- Charities should adapt to and make the most of AI and technology.
Election and campaigning
Government has confirmed it is backing the Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) Bill, put forward as a private members' bill to extend the measures introduced in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. The 2023 Act blocked SLAPPs (i.e. a misuse of the litigation process by bringing a claim primarily designed to stifle freedom of expression) on issues around economic crime. This new Bill would block SLAPPs across all types of litigation. The aim of the Bill is to protect investigative journalism and campaigning through measures to strike out SLAPPs and avoid lengthy SLAPP litigation. The proposed measures include a merit test leading to early dismissal and a costs protection scheme for defendants.
Safeguarding
The Home Office has outlined plans for a new legal requirement for anyone in regulated activity relating to children to report sexual abuse if they know about it. Regulated activity includes all unsupervised work or volunteering with children or work for specific establishments (such as schools and children's homes) that gives the person the opportunity to have contact with children. Those who fail to report will not be allowed to work with young people, while anyone who actively protects child sexual abusers by intentionally blocking others from reporting or covering up the crime could go to prison for seven years. The date for the introduction of this requirement (which will be through amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill) has not been confirmed. See this comment from Schools Week.
The introduction of this reporting duty follows the recommendations made by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in its final report, published in October 2022, and a subsequent Home Office consultation in November 2023. Bates Wells Head of Education Jean Tsang says, "Understandably, there are concerns that the creation of this new legal duty could overwhelm local authority Children's Services should mandatory reporting lead to a spike in referrals. As such there have been calls for greater funding to ensure that local authorities can cope with demand and that children and young people making disclosures can be properly supported. However, the Home Office plans have on the whole been welcomed by the sector as a positive step to further protect children."
Also see under Faith based organisations below.
Funders and funding
Measuring the impact of Participatory Grantmaking. Natasha Friend, Director of Camden Giving, writes for think-tank NPC about the value of members of marginalised communities having a say in what initiatives receive grant funding, how this works for Camden Giving and the need to measure the systems-change that is being created, including through investment in long-term relationships with participatory grantmakers.
Fundraising
Fundraising Regulator news
In this blog, the Fundraising Regulator's (FR) Head of Proactive Regulation and Projects Jim Tebbett provides an update on the FR's market inquiry into the use of subcontracting in face-to-face fundraising and the workshops the FR ran with charities and fundraising agencies in December 2023.
Workshop participants shared many examples of good practice and a widespread willingness to do the right thing. However, the FR also heard examples of where both charities and agencies need to tighten their contracts and focus more on due diligence and contract management. Next month the FR will publish a post-workshop report, which will summarise the workshop discussions and outline next steps.
In response to findings from its complaints handling survey last summer, the FR is pausing the collection of complaints data from charities that contribute to its Annual Complaints report. The FR says this pause will allow it to make improvements to the way it reports complaints data from charities. Read this blog from the FR's Policy Officer Sara Asaria to find out more.
Advertising
The Advertising Standards Authority has issued advice on targeting and placement of adverts, including when it may be inappropriate for display in an untargeted medium where it could be seen by children.
Philanthropy
The Guardian reports cancer experts are calling on philanthropists to help fund a 'golden age' of research.
Public procurement and subsidy control
The Government has organised an event dedicated to the Procurement Act to take place at the NEC, Birmingham on 12 March 2024. The event is free for public sector attendees. For more details on the event, and to register, visit the dedicated event website.
For more on the Procurement Act 2023, including when it is coming into force and how it may affect your organisation, our competition and procurement experts have written this blog.
The Health Service Procurement (Wales) Act 2024 came into force on 6 February 2024. It enables Welsh Ministers to make regulations relating to the processes and objectives to be followed when procuring services (or goods connected with those services) forming part of the NHS health service in Wales.
Company Law
Increases in Companies House fees
New regulations have been made this month, coming into force on 1 May 2024, which amend existing fees and introduce new fees. They provide for the cost of Companies House's new investigation and enforcement activities to be taken into account when setting those fees. For instance, filing the annual confirmation statement electronically will cost £34, compared to the current £13.
Property
Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced the expansion of this Scheme on 12 February 2024. Set up in 2020, the Scheme provides low-cost loans to housing providers, enabling them to build more affordable homes. For the first time, the Scheme can now also be used to upgrade existing properties, making them warm and decent for tenants. For more details and how to apply, see this announcement here.
Social housing consultation
The government has launched a consultation on its proposals to introduce a new, regulatory standard relating to the competence and conduct of social housing staff. The standard will require senior managers and executives to have, or be working towards, a relevant qualification. The aim is to ensure that staff have up-to-date skills, knowledge and experience, and that they exhibit the right behaviours to deliver a high quality, professional service and treat residents with respect. The consultation closes on 2 April 2024 and can be accessed here.
Social housing fire safety survey
The Regulator of Social Housing has published its findings from its second survey on the fire safety of 11 metre plus buildings in the social housing sector. The results show that fire risk assessments have been undertaken on around 98% of all buildings reported. RSH will continue to monitor landlords' performance in remediation work.
Scotland
Legislation has been laid in the Scottish Parliament to bring into effect some of the changes contained in the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023 from 1 April 2024, including increased inquiry powers for OSCR. The regulator has summarised the changes here and says that relevant guidance on its website will be updated once the changes take effect.
Of particular interest to English and Welsh charities which operate in Scotland may be the following changes:
- From 1 April 2024 OSCR must refuse application to be registered as charities from organisations which have no or a negligible connection with Scotland. OSCR says that its experience indicates that this will not be an issue for the overwhelming majority of applicants, but the new measure will ensure that it can deal with issues where they arise.
- Charities will no longer be required to give OSCR 42 days' notice of changes which require its consent (like changes to charity name, purposes in the constitution or dissolution).
Scottish Ministers intend to commence some further measures on 1 October 2024 and then the remaining parts of the 2023 Act are planned to come into force in summer 2025.
OSCR has published an article on the new Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land in Scotland – this will affect charities that own, or have an interest in, land and property in Scotland.
Northern Ireland
The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland is adding to its list of prospective trustees who may be called on to provide assistance in a charity either on a short or long term basis – and is looking for interested parties to apply.
Health and social care
See above under Public procurement.
The Welsh Government has published a consultation on proposals to increase the maximum weekly charge for adult non-residential care and support. The consultation closes on 13 May 2024.
The Department of Health and Social Care has issued a consultationon information standards for health and adult social care. The consultation closes on 28 March 2024.
The Care Quality Commission has released details of how it plans to use funding from the Regulators' Pioneer Fund to develop a framework to support integrated care systems in reducing health inequalities. It will work with National Voices, the coalition of health and social care charities in England, and the Point of Care Foundation. They are looking for examples of best practice (details of what and where to send are in the article) and you can receive project updates and involvement opportunities by registering your interest at Public participation platform of Care Quality Commission | CitizenLab.
Social enterprise/Community Interest Companies
The Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies has published a press release setting out how the planned increases in Companies House fees, to be introduced from 1 May 2024, will affect CICs (see more about the planned increases above under Company law). The Regulator has also updated its guidance Community interest companies: forms and step-by-step guides to confirm that CICs can no longer send form CIC34 (the CIC report) to Scotland, leaving only the Companies House Cardiff and Belfast addresses.
Social investment/social impact investment
Pioneers Post reports on the power of blended finance to access private capital and direct it towards sustainable development, as part of a two-part 'deep dive' into the topic written in partnership with FASE. The article outlines that there are various approaches to blended finance and notes that US$202bn is estimated to have been mobilised through blended finance (according to the global network Convergence). It also emphasises the role that 'impact entrepreneurs' have played in creating blended finance practice.
Co-operatives UK has published its first ever Community Shares Impact Report (press release), looking back on the work of its Community Shares Unit in 2023.
Faith based organisations
Back in July 2023 Professor Alexis Jay CBE (who previously chaired the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse) was appointed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to provide options and recommendations for how a new independent safeguarding and scrutiny body for the Church of England might be formed and how it should operate, and make any recommendations for how further independence of safeguarding for the Church of England might be achieved.
Last week Professor Jay published her report, The Future of Church Safeguarding. In it, she recommends the establishment of two separate bodies independent of the Church – one responsible for delivering all Church safeguarding activities, and one responsible for providing scrutiny and oversight of safeguarding. Both bodies would be registered charities and would be separate from the Church with their relationship governed by statute and legally binding collaboration agreements.
The recommendations within Professor Jay's report are underpinned by legal advice authored by Bates Wells with the support of Mark Hill KC, a leading expert in ecclesiastical law. Bates Wells' Head of Education and safeguarding expert Jean Tsang, who worked on the report, explains, "Our advice sets out how new safeguarding arrangements proposed in the report can best be achieved. It also sets out a draft Measure (a statute affecting the Church of England), which would create new safeguarding duties applicable to everyone in the Church, ensuring that safeguarding matters are referred to the new bodies and their decisions implemented."
International development
Bond has released the first part of a blog, looking at use of images by international NGOs and how to redefine this use to avoid oversimplification or misrepresentation.
Education
Also see above under Safeguarding.
Schools
Ofsted have produced updated guidance for:
These updates align with changes made to the initial teacher education handbook and the school inspection handbook earlier this year.
Ofsted have published an independent review of careers guidance in special schools, independent special colleges and pupil referral units. This outlines the challenges these settings face in providing careers guidance to children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and highlights examples of good practice, such as well-established communication channels between parents/carers and the specialist settings.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
