Charities & Not-for-Profit Plus Blog
Academies Capital Maintenance Fund applications
Date: Thursday 1st March, 2012 | Author: Wendy Bambrick
This is to remind you that the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund 2012-13 opened for applications on 1 March, with a four week application window. All Academies open on or before 1 March 2012 are eligible to apply in this bidding round. Academies which do so will not be eligible to apply for funding in later 2012-13 bidding round(s), which will primarily be for those Academies opening later in the year. The priorities of the fund have been extended to cover applications...
Consultation workshop – Impact and consequences of the public benefit requirement
Date: Tuesday 28th February, 2012 | Author: Wendy Bambrick
The Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) is conducting a study for the Charity Commission. The study aims to answer the following questions: What does the public benefit requirement mean for your charity or charities you advise? How has the renewed focus on public benefit affected charities? What are the consequences for the charity sector as a whole? The findings of the study will feed into the Charity Commission’s ongoing policy work on the public benefit requirement. As...
New risk framework published by The Charity Commission
Date: Tuesday 17th January, 2012 | Author: Wendy Bambrick
Today, the Charity Commission has published a new risk framework, explaining the Commissions approach to regulation and how it assesses risks affecting charities. The key points of the new framework are: The commissions approach to protecting the public’s interest in charity. An emphasis on preventing problems, identifying risks early and providing web based guidance. Explanation of when the Commission will intervene in serious cases of non compliance or abuse. Routinely checking a sample of accounts each year. ...
Academy switch for large numbers of faith schools
Date: Wednesday 11th January, 2012 | Author: Louise Giles
When the programme to encourage schools to switch to academy status was first unveiled, many faith schools had at first been reluctant to pursue the changes. However, to date nearly 800 Church of England and Catholic schools have registered an interest, with nearly 140 making the switch by early November 2011. In addition, 34 applications from C of E and Catholic schools, 19 from other Christian denominations and 14 from Jewish faith schools have been approved. The reasoning behind this is widely thought to be...
Education Secretary’s comments spark anger from opponents
Date: Tuesday 10th January, 2012 | Author: Wendy Bambrick
During a speech in London, whilst speaking on the topic of his current drive to persuade more schools to convert to academies, the Education Secretary Michael Gove said that some of his opponents on this matter were “enemies of promise”, and were “happy with failure”. The programme, originally implemented by the previous Labour government as an aid to struggling schools, is now being suggested by the current Coalition government as recommended for all schools....
Public Benefit Guidance update
Date: Tuesday 3rd January, 2012 | Author: Wendy Bambrick
An update on the guidance on public benefit for charity trustees has been provided by the Charity commission. The Commission has withdrawn the aspects of its public benefit guidance that require rewriting to ensure that the guidance is consistent with the Upper Tribunal’s decision. Most charities will not be affected by these changes but all need to be aware of the changes. Guidance on the specific withdrawn sections can be found on the Charity...
Charity Commission launches mobile website to make donating safer
Date: Wednesday 21st December, 2011 | Author: Louise Giles
A new mobile website has been launched by the Charity Commission to make donating safer. At http://m.charitycommission.gov.uk, people will now be able to access information on the go. If people are in doubt about whether a charity is genuine, they will be able to look it up on the website, which holds the Commission’s register of over 180,000 charities. All charities with income over £5,000 are required to register with the Charity Commission,...
Are Charities paying to much in energy taxes?
Date: Tuesday 20th December, 2011 | Author: Wendy Bambrick
A startling figure has come to light from a survey by Make It Cheaper, it has estimated that: Charities will have paid about £78m of unnecessary tax on their energy bills in 2011. Make It Cheaper says that of the 472 charities it surveyed, 46% did not realise they were exempt from the levy, a charge on businesses to pay for services to reduce carbon emissions, and only have to pay 5 per cent VAT on much of...
Review of the Charities Act 2006
Date: Thursday 15th December, 2011 | Author: Wendy Bambrick
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts has been appointed to lead the review of the Charities Act 2006. He will report on his review to Parliament before the summer recess in 2012. A review is being undertaken now as it is a requirement of the Charities Act 2006 that a review of the Act be undertaken five years after the legislation came in to force. The objectives of the review are to: report on the operation and effectiveness of the provisions of...
Charities Act 2011 receives royal assent
Date: Thursday 15th December, 2011 | Author: Wendy Bambrick
The Charities Act 2011 received royal assent on 14th December, and is to come into force in March 2012. This Act will consolidate existing legislation from the Recreational charities Act 1958, the Charities Act 1993 and many of the provisions of the Charities Act 2006, which will be repealed and replaced. It does not make any changes to the legal basis of the Commission’s guidance; although references in the guidance will be amended to refer to the new legislation. It was developed...
