Charity Commission in contact with 41 charities during election period

The regulator has published an overview of issues arising from the 2017 general election

Forty-one charities were in contact with the Charity Commission because of issues arising during this year’s general election campaign, the regulator has said.

In an overview of charities’ campaigning and political activity during the most recent election period, which ran from 18 April to 8 June, the commission said that 28 out of the 41 cases it dealt with arose from concerns raised by members of the public or the regulator proactively identifying concerns from media reports.

A further 13 charities contacted the commission to seek advice.

In comparison, 39 charities were in touch with the commission during the 2015 general election.

The majority of the charities the commission dealt with during the most recent election had incomes exceeding £1m a year, the regulator said, and the 41 cases included concerns relating to all the major political parties.

The Charity Commission’s guidance on political activity says that charities must stress their political independence and campaigning should be undertaken only in furtherance of a charity’s charitable purposes.

A number of charities also expressed concerns about the impact of the lobbying act on their ability to campaign during the most recent election, specifically its spending limits on joint campaigning and registration with the Electoral Commission.

Among the charities contacted by the regulator during the 2017 election was the right-wing think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, in relation to allegedly partisan publications.

The IEA was issued with formal regulatory advice about two publications, one suggesting Conservative manifesto policy proposals and another criticising the Labour manifesto.

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Another two cases highlighted by the commission in its report today is Unity Group Wales, which was displaying Labour Party posters in its high-street centre in Swansea, and the National Council of Hindu Temples, which issued an email to members suggesting support for the Conservative Party.

Unity Group Wales immediately removed the posters when contacted by the commission and made a statement expressing its political neutrality and independence.

The National Council of Hindu Temples initially denied its email was partisan and the commission said it considered an official warning until the charity decided to send a second email saying it was politically neutral.

David Holdsworth, chief operating officer of the Charity Commission, said: “Charities have a strong and proud tradition of campaigning and being at the forefront of social policy. Many charities can and did find practical, valid ways to engage in beneficiary-focused and effective campaigning and political activity in the run-up to this general election.

“However, our report does illustrate that some basic silly mistakes that could have been avoided by reading and following our guidance continue to be made by charities.”

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Regulator will require charities to publish details of overseas funding

The Charity Commission will expect charities to include in their annual returns information on the size and source of these funds

The Charity Commission will ask charities to detail in their annual returns any funding they have received from overseas, as part of government measures to combat Islamic extremism.

Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, said in a statement in the House of Commons yesterday that, having finished a long-running review of the funding of extremist Islamic organisations, the commission would require charities to “declare overseas funding sources”. Rudd admitted in the statement that the majority of funding for such groups came from donors in the UK.

A spokeswoman for the Charity Commission said in a statement that the regulator would be asking charities to declare in their annual returns whether they have received income from overseas and the source and amount of those funds.

“This change is part of our wider work to align the annual return with the strategic risks facing charities and to ensure that charities are only asked to respond to question areas that are relevant to their work,” she said.

“This is information that the public would expect a modern, risk-based regulator to hold on charities, and to make available for the purposes of accountability and transparency.”

She said the plans for the new requirement, which will be introduced for the 2017 annual return, expected to be published later this summer, were already being developed before some of the issues in the extremism review came to light.

The spokeswoman said in the statement: “Since our consultation on the purpose of the annual return, we have engaged in more detailed discussions with sector organisations about the wording of proposed questions to help ensure charities understand the questions and how they will be expected to respond.”

Rudd’s statement to parliament said the commission had in recent months been discussing the introduction of a requirement on charities to declare overseas funding sources.

But Caron Bradshaw, chief executive of the Charity Finance Group, said there had been no public discussion about the change and called for a full consultation on the measure.

She said it was vital to ensure that any steps taken to combat extremism were proportionate and effective.

“We have a number of concerns about how requiring charities to declare overseas sources of funding will give useful information to the Charity Commission and help law enforcement,” she said. “It is important that the desire to do something does not lead to us wasting resources that could be better used.

“There has been no public discussion about this change, as there has been in the past with other specific measures proposed by the commission for the annual return.

“It is important that there is a full consultation before this measure is introduced so that the right decisions are made.”

Rudd told MPs that the Home Office review had found that some Islamic extremist organisations “portray themselves as charities to increase their credibility and to take advantage of Islam’s emphasis on charity”.

Some were also “purposefully vague about their activities and their charitable status”, she said.

Rudd said the government had chosen not to publish a report on the findings of the review – which was started in 2015 – because of security concerns.

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Fewer people think charities are regulated effectively, says report

Published by the Charity Commission today, the paper says the proportion of respondents who think charities in England and Wales are effectively or fairly effectively regulated has fallen six points in two years

The proportion of people who think that charities are regulated effectively has fallen over the past two years, research published by the Charity Commission has found.

Research carried out for the regulator by the polling company Populus discovered that the proportion of people who thought charities in England and Wales are regulated very effectively or fairly effectively was down from 64 per cent in 2015 to 58 per cent this year.

Although the proportion of people who felt charities were regulated fairly increased, in effect, from 44 per cent in 2015 to 51 per cent this year, the proportion who felt the sector was regulated very effectively dropped sharply from 20 per cent in 2015 to only 7 per cent this year.

The research, published by the commission today, found that the proportion of people who said charities were not regulated very effectively increased from 8 per cent in 2015 to 16 per cent this year.

The proportion who said they felt charities were regulated “not at all effectively” rose by one percentage point on 2015 to 5 per cent this year. The remainder said they did not know.

The findings are based on 1,002 telephone interviews with a representative sample of members of the public, a further 1,015 online interviews with senior staff or trustees from charities in England and Wales, plus 26 in-depth telephone interviews with charities, government officials, umbrella bodies and professional advisers. All the research was carried out between February and April.

Despite a fall in public confidence in charity regulation, stakeholders interviewed for the study said that charities in England and Wales were regulated effectively overall.

“They think it compares favourably on an international scale, arguing that the England and Wales system is an example for other countries to follow,” the report on the findings says. “They have an awareness of and sympathy for the environment that the Charity Commission operates within, referring to a lack of resources and the large number of charities under its remit.”

The survey found that awareness of the Charity Commission had risen: 61 per cent of respondents this year said they had heard of the regulator, compared with 47 per cent in 2015.

Researchers found what they called a “significant increase” in the proportion of people who said they or their close family or friends had benefited or used the services of a charity, or received support from one.

The proportion of people who said they or their close family or friends had used a charity’s services went up from 19 per cent in 2015 to 31 per cent this year, and the percentage who said they or their close family or friends had received money, support or help from a charity was up by six percentage points to 16 per cent over the course of two years.

The report says that 17 per cent of the public had a concern about a charity in the past year, but more than half – 58 per cent – did not take any action.

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Regulator’s consultation on charging charities won’t start for at least 12 weeks

At a public meeting in Cardiff, the chair and chief operating officer of the Charity Commission said the consultation would be published in the near future

The Charity Commission is facing at least a 12-week delay to its consultation on charging charities to fund the regulator.

In response to a question at a commission public meeting held in Cardiff on Thursday, William Shawcross and David Holdsworth, respectively chair and chief operating officer of the regulator, both said that a consultation on a charity levy would be released in the near future.

Third Sector understands that the Charity Commission was very close to publishing the consultation before the general election was called, but the election and subsequent changes in government, including the appointment of a new Chief Secretary to the Treasury and a new charities minister, have delayed the process.

Because of this, it will take at least 12 more weeks to get the necessary permissions from the Treasury to launch the consultation.

Speaking at the public meeting, Holdsworth said he expected that charities with incomes of £100,000 or more would have to pay between £75 and £1,750, depending on the outcome of the consultation.

Cuts to the commission’s Treasury funding mean its budget has fallen by £8m since 2010 and will be frozen at £20.3m a year until 2020. The number of registered charities has increased since 2010.

Shawcross said the commission had consistently asked for more funding, but was resigned to exploring other ways of getting the money it needed.

“I have asked the Treasury for more money consistently, almost monthly, for the past few years and the answer has been no,” he said. “I have said that, in that case, we will try to seek money from elsewhere.

“We have been discussing this with government, but there have been a lot of tos and fros because there have been a lot of changes in government over the past year and a half. It has not got off the ground quite as quickly as I would have wished.”

Holdsworth said: “Exploring the options – with the sector – is the right thing to do. We did try to get the increase and got a very robust no from the Treasury. So at that point our duty as a regulator has to be to explore all options.

“That doesn’t mean we will give up on pursuing the Treasury for more assistance, but it means our responsibility is to pursue those options.”

Holdsworth also set out some of the changes to the Charity Commission’s digital services that will be occurring in the next year, which have been funded by a one-off grant from the Treasury or £8m.

Holdsworth said that much of the commission’s work had so far been focused on building the infrastructure and capacity among its staff to deal with new digital services.

Charity registration services have already gone online, so the average amount of time it takes to register a charity has halved from 90 days to 45.

A consultation on changes to the annual return, which closed in March, would also lead to a new user-friendly version being launched on 31 August, Holdsworth said.

He added that two new digital services were currently in “private beta”, which meant they were being tested with a number of charities.

He said these two services were applications to change a charity’s name – which he said could cut the length of time spent on the process from 33 days to 24 hours – and amending a charity’s governing documents.

He added that individual “portals” for charities, which would allow them to make applications to the commission and take control of their details, should be ready by the end of this year.

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Charities could be missing out on £100m in legacy gifts, says report

An online survey of charity legacy officers and probate practitioners finds that some people are persuaded to leave gifts to charities in ways that aren’t legally binding

The charity sector could be missing out on as much as £100m a year because people are leaving legacy gifts in a non-legally binding form, a survey of legacy officers and lawyers has found.

The online survey of 130 charity legacy officers and 76 probate practitioners, carried out in March and April by the law firm Penningtons Manches, found that only 37 per cent of probate practitioners actively prompted clients to consider leaving gifts to charity in their wills, and 27 per cent “actively disliked” dealing with estates that included legacy donations.

The report based on the survey responses, Bridging the Gap? Improving Collaboration Between Probate Practitioners and Charities, says that 20 per cent of probate practitioners said they encouraged their clients to leave charitable gifts out of their wills and instead include them in separate letters of wishes to friends or family, which are not legally binding.

“On the face of it, this may feel like a relatively small percentage, but when this is extrapolated against the legacy income of the whole charity sector this could amount to as much £100m per year,” the report says.

“This is a very significant issue for the charity sector and needs to be addressed.”

One solution the report puts forward is better communication and understanding between probate lawyers and legacy officers – who, according to the survey, had radically different views of each other’s work.

The survey found that 82 per cent of legacy officers believed they provided a caring, compassionate and personalised approach to their work, but only 54 per cent of probate practitioners agreed and 26 per cent strongly disagreed. More than a third (34 per cent) of legacy officers were concerned that probate practitioners did not fully understand the tax exemptions associated with legacy giving.

More than a third (34 per cent) of legacy officers said they were dissatisfied with the frequency of updates provided by probate practitioners on the progress of legacy cases and, where updates were provided, a quarter were dissatisfied with the level of detail provided and the overall time taken to complete the administration of estates.

Among probate practitioners, on the other hand, less than half (46 per cent) of respondents were satisfied with the frequency at which charities checked in with them about progress and only 47 per cent were satisfied with the level of detail requested.

Alison Talbot, head of charities at Penningtons Manches, said the firm had “picked up on some tensions between legacy officers and probate practitioners” in its day-to-day work but had been “surprised by the strength of discontent” expressed in the survey.

“Even if the charity sector finds the views of the probate practitioners frustrating, it has to take notice of the concerns because these individuals are often the gatekeepers to future charity legacies,” she said.

Legacy officers also had concerns over their own organisation’s senior management understanding of legacies, with only 52 per cent of respondents agreeing that their senior managers grasped the issues and 39 per cent agreeing that trustees did.

Chris Millward, chief executive of the Institute of Legacy Management, said the issues the report highlighted were “sadly very familiar” to the ILM and its members.

He said he hoped the research would “act as a springboard for better understanding, improved communication and increased collaboration between charity legacy professionals and solicitors”.

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Government makes £1m available to Grenfell Tower charities

London Funders will coordinate distribution of the money, and Locality will take charge of another £48,000 from government to support an assistance centre

The government has made £1m available to local charities that are dealing with the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire.

The Department for Communities and Local Government said local charities would receive reimbursement for their immediate response to the Grenfell Tower fire earlier this month.

At least 79 people are dead or missing presumed dead after the fire, which occurred in Kensington, west London.

London Funders, a membership network for funders and investors in London’s voluntary sector, will coordinate the distribution of the money along with a consortium of other trusts and foundations.

The new money is in addition to a £5m discretionary fund for residents of Grenfell Tower that was announced by the government last week.

A further £48,000 from the government will help to provide organisational support for an assistance centre near the tower – located at the Westway Centre – and will be administered by Locality.

Six other charities, as well as London Funders, agreed a joint approach with the Charity Commission last week to provide immediate financial support to victims of the fire.

The next of kin of those killed in the fire will receive an initial £20,000 from the more than £10m donated by the public since the disaster, with those injured receiving £10,000.

People made homeless would receive a £10,000 “fresh start” grant once they were rehoused, the commission said.

The charities involved in the discussions with the commission were the British Red Cross, Muslim Aid, the London Emergencies Trust, the Rugby Portobello Trust, the London Community Foundation and the Kensington & Chelsea Foundation.

Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, said: “The residents of Grenfell Tower have been through some of the most harrowing experiences imaginable and the response from local charities and volunteers has been remarkable.

“This funding will mean that smaller charities and community organisations can continue to make a huge difference. The first payments are in the process of being made and the government will continue to do everything we can as fast as we can to support those affected by this terrible tragedy.”

David Warner, chief executive of London Funders, said: “We are delighted that the DCLG has responded with vital funds to provide immediate support to community groups in Kensington and Chelsea who are supporting those directly affected by the Grenfell fire.

“London Funders, along with a consortium of trusts and foundations, is making sure the money gets to those groups that can best use it as quickly as possible. We have now put in place the processes to make that happen.”

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Armed forces and emergency services charities invited to apply for Libor fine funds

The Treasury has not announced how much money is available and it is likely this will not be known until applications have been assessed

– This article was corrected on 22 June 2017; please see final paragraph

Armed forces and emergency services charities have been invited to apply for grants from the latest round of Libor fine funding.

The government has been giving selected charities and good causes funds raised from banks that were fined for illegally fixing the inter-bank lending rate, or Libor, in 2012.

In the latest round of funding, which opened to applications today, charities and community interest companies can apply for grants for projects that will support serving or former members of the armed forces or the emergency services and their families.

The Treasury, which is managing the fund, has not announced how much funding is available and the exact amount is not expected to be finalised until all the applications have been assessed.

The government has given out more than £700m in Libor fine funding since 2012.

There is no upper funding limit for applications and guidance put out by the Treasury says some projects might be funded in part if full funding is not possible. 

Organisations can bid alone or in partnership, with one partner deemed to be the lead organisation.

The Treasury said its assessment criteria included the difference each project would make to the armed forces and emergency services communities, the value for money it offered and how sustainable it was.

Applicants that ask for funding for a capital project would have to have match-funding of at least 50 per cent, the Treasury said.

The department said some projects would not be funded in this round, including those that focused on the delivery of emergency services, those focused primarily on heritage and conservation activities or those where the primary beneficiaries were members of the public.

The closing date for applications, which must be submitted online, is noon on 25 August. Final decisions will be made in November.

For more information and to apply, click here.

– The story originally said projects would be funded either in full or not at all.

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Give charities a clear voice in policy-making, CAF urges the government

In a paper published today, the Charities Aid Foundation says the sector is key to delivering social cohesion

The government should commission charities to improve community cohesion and give them a clear voice in policy-making, according to the Charities Aid Foundation.

In a paper published before the Queen’s Speech this morning, called Strong and Stable For the Many Not the Few, CAF makes a raft of suggestions including a bigger role for charities in their local communities.

“What has become clear is that action needs to be taken to unite people, to strengthen communities and to make sure that everyone feels they have a stake in society,” the paper says.

“Charities are core to delivering this, using their unique expertise and influence to heal divisions and strengthen society.

“National trends remain important, but much of this essential work has to be done on the ground at grass-roots level – the kind of level where charities are already operating.”

It also calls on the government to repeal or exempt charities from the lobbying act, or at least implement in full the recommendations made by the Conservative peer Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts in his review of the act.

Hodgson said the scope of the act should be reduced to include only activity intended to influence how people vote.

The CAF paper says the government should “enshrine the principle of charity advocacy in statutory law”.

Other suggestions include amending the Companies Act 2006 to improve transparency around corporate giving and requiring each government department to promote payroll giving to its employees.

It also calls for more government support for volunteering and says charities should be given a bigger role in shaping devolution deals.

Sir John Low, chief executive of CAF, called for charities to be given a big role in decisions made during this parliament.

“Government and politicians come and go, but charities are the constant glue that binds communities together,” he said.

“During this time of seismic change, charities are needed now more than ever to bring the country back together and help secure Britain’s place in the world.

“This Brexit parliament must use the unique expertise of charities to help rebuild communities, tackle social injustice and give a voice to those who may otherwise lack one.”

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Digital round-up: Father’s Day a ‘missed opportunity’ for charities

Plus: grants available to help charities reach the over-65s with information about smart meters; and a Scottish digital fund opens

Father’s Day, which is on Sunday 18 June, is a missed opportunity for the sector, with charities missing out on donations from ethical or alternative gift programmes by not digitally promoting around key calendar events, according to research from the digital media company Equimedia.

The Charities Aid Foundation’s UK Giving Report 2017 said there had been a 19 per cent increase in the number of Britons purchasing ethical gifts over two years. But after conducting keyword analysis of online charity campaigns Equimedia said there had been “no significant uplift from charitable organisations promoting their alternative gift services”. Louise Burgess of Equimedia said: “It is a well-known challenge that many in the third sector are not adopting digital marketing techniques consistently enough to promote their causes. That charities are ignoring key moments throughout the year to engage, moments when Google search data clearly shows that people are actively looking for unusual gifts for their loved ones, highlights a tremendous missed opportunity.”

smart meter

Charities and other non-profit organisations are being invited to apply for grants from the Smart Energy GB in Communities fund to help the over-65s. A total of £250,000 is being made available in small grants of up to £5,000 to organisations that can help Smart Energy GB reach those of this age group who have no access to the internet and provide them with information about smart meters and how to use them in the home. The fund will be administered by the Charities Aid Foundation. Smart meters will see the phasing out of estimated energy bills and are fitted with displays that show the cost of a household’s energy use. Applications for funding are available until 19 July and more information can be found here.

The Digital Xtra Fund has announced a £50,000 fund for projects in Scotland that teach digital skills to young children. This will be the first fund to be made available since the organisation became a charity in March this year. Projects for “innovative, adaptable and sustainable projects” that engage with groups such as girls and young women who are currently under-represented in the sector are being particularly encouraged. The ultimate aim is to increase the number of young people from all backgrounds entering high-skilled careers in digital.

Kraig Brown, partnerships and development manager for the Digital Xtra Fund, said: “We want to improve digital skills among young people by supporting high-quality extracurricular activities, thereby preparing them better for a digital future and inspiring them to consider a career in digital tech.”

The closing date for applications is 1 September and more information can be found here.

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