Homelessness charity removed from register after conflict of interest disclosed

After an investigation, the Charity Commission acted against Fresh Start Housing, which referred clients to a lettings agency owned by its founder

An organisation that helps homeless people to find housing has been removed from the charity register after the Charity Commission discovered it had been providing benefit to a company owned by its founder.

Fresh Start Housing was founded in 2010 by Samir Patel and registered as a charity in 2011 with the objects of providing advice and assistance to homeless people, particularly ex-offenders.

It would refer people to a letting agency, Investing Solutions Limited, of which Patel is listed as the sole director and secretary with Companies House. Both organisations operate from the same address at Battersea in London, according to their websites.

The commission opened a monitoring case in November 2015 after the BBC reported that ISL had received £5.5m in housing benefit by housing single men referred to the company by FSH. The broadcaster alleged that FSH was effectively a conduit to make money for ISL, the commission’s report on its investigation said.

In a statement released yesterday, the commission said it had concluded that FSH “was not and had never been a charity”.

The statement said the commission had questioned trustees of FSH about its independence from ISL before allowing it to register as a charity in 2011 and was assured that FSH would refer prospective tenants to a range of housing agencies, not just ISL, and that the trustees were completely independent of the company.

Trustees also claimed that FSH would generate income by charging a fee to landlords and agents when it referred prospective tenants for housing, the commission statement said.

But the commission monitoring case report said that “most, if not all persons who sought the charity’s help (its beneficiaries) were referred to ISL to be housed, and ISL received a financial benefit from rents received”.

Most of the trustees had some form of business or personal relationship with Patel and, contrary to what the regulator had been told, FSH received no payments for referrals, the statement said.

The commission found there was an inherent conflict of interest with FSH, the statement said.

The regulator said it had informed HM Revenue & Customs of its decision to remove the organisation from the charities register and that it could decide whether to recover any financial benefits FSH might have received while registered as a charity.

A spokesman for FSH said: “Fresh Start’s original request for acceptance as a charity included the expectation that we would use several different landlords. In practice, only one landlord – Investing Solutions Ltd – would always offer accommodation to clients with no cash reserves beyond their jobseeker’s allowance. Virtually all other landlords within the inner-London area need about £2,000 for fees, for one month’s rent in advance and one month’s rent as deposit.”

He said FSH had “not used any of the advantages” of charitable status by soliciting donations or recovering VAT and had not challenged the commission’s decision because it was administratively easier not to operate as a charity.

He said HMRC had not contacted the organisation after the commission’s decision because there was nothing to recover.

The organisation was continuing its work to house people at risk of homelessness, he said.

No one from ISL responded to Third Sector’s request for comment before publication deadline.

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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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Modernising of legacy law is vital, says Remember A Charity

The legacy consortium is backing proposals in a consultation on the issue launched by the Law Commission

Plans to modernise the law on the making of wills could be crucial to encouraging more people to leave charitable donations in their bequests, according to the legacy consortium Remember A Charity.

The Law Commission has launched a consultation on proposed changes to legacy law, which it says is outdated and often does not allow courts to implement people’s wishes, even if they are clear, because they have not followed legal procedure entirely correctly.

Under the new proposals, the Lord Chancellor would have the power to make provision for electronic wills and the age for being able to make a will would fall from 18 to 16.

The commission has proposed giving the courts the power to recognise a will in cases where formal rules have not been followed but the will-maker has made their intentions clear.

It has also put forward measures that would overhaul the rules protecting anyone who makes a will from being unduly influenced by another person.

The proposals include an update to the rules around mental capacity to reflect modern medical understanding of conditions such as dementia and to provide statutory guidance for doctors and other professionals when assessing someone’s mental capacity.

Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, said the moves could raise millions for charity each year by closing the gap between the 35 per cent of people who say they would like to leave money to charity in their wills and the 6 per cent who actually do.

“When you consider that hundreds of thousands of people in the UK die intestate each year, leaving no clear guidelines as to how any assets should be divided among their family, friends and good causes, it is long overdue that the will-writing process is made more accessible, helping to ensure that people’s final wishes are met,” he said.

“If the legal sector succeeds in making it easier for people to write wills, while putting adequate safeguards in place for the public and minimising the opportunity for contested wills, this could be a critical step forward for legacy giving.

“Ultimately, the more people that write wills, the greater the potential for including charitable donations.”

The Law Commission consultation will run until 10 November.

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Beanstalk charity receives £31,000 to help children with reading difficulties

Posted: 13th July 2017

Educational charity, Beanstalk, have been awarded a grant of £31,000 to help support children with reading difficulties across Greater Manchester and Sefton. This grant will support nearly 100 children with reading difficulties, offering them the one-to-one literacy support they need to succeed in school.

Beanstalk is a national charity which recruits, trains and supports volunteers to work in primary schools with children who have fallen behind with their reading.

Beanstalk-trained reading helpers will work one-to-one with the children to improve their reading ability and confidence. Together they will read, talk, and play educational games to ensure that they have the skills to reach their true potential.

Robert Wright from the West Lancashire Freemasons visited Christ Church CE Primary School in Bootle on Tuesday, meeting with teachers and Volunteer Reading Helpers to learn more about the vital support that Beanstalk volunteers are providing to children who are struggling with their reading.

The one-to-one support provided by Beanstalk trained reading helpers is proven to transform the literacy skills and confidence of children. Research shows that only 20 per cent of children supported by a Beanstalk reading helper were still unable to sound out new words correctly when reading new books, compared to almost 50 per cent prior to the intervention.

Robert Wright from West Lancashire Freemasons said:

“We are very pleased to be able to support Beanstalk’s excellent work in schools. If these children are not able to read and write properly they will fail to get much out of their education and their whole future will be put at risk.”

Ginny Lunn, CEO of Beanstalk said:

Beanstalk is extremely grateful to West Lancashire Freemasons for the generous grant towards our work with children in the North West. Thanks to your wonderful support we will support many children to develop the reading skills they need to reach their true potential. On behalf of all the children whose lives will be transformed, thank you so much.

If you think you could volunteer and help disadvantaged children in Greater Manchester and Sefton by becoming a Beanstalk reading helper visit their website >> www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk

 




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Charity Finance Group launches Counter Fraud Pledge

The Charity Finance Group is calling on charities to take a pledge aimed at reducing fraud in the voluntary sector.

The umbrella body said charities could not be completely immune to fraud, but they could take steps to minimise the risks and reduce the estimated £1.9bn a year the sector loses to it.

The Counter Fraud Pledge focuses on six promises, including that each signatory will create fraud policy, assess each year how well the policy is working and appoint a key person to be responsible for fraud.

Organisations that sign the pledge will be able to use a badge on their website to show people that the charity is doing what it can to protect its assets.

Heather McLoughlin, policy and public affairs officer at the Charity Finance Group, said fraud was one of the biggest challenges facing charities.

She said that although many charities had robust counter-fraud policies, others were still grappling with the issue.

“Our hope is that the Counter Fraud Pledge will increase awareness of fraud and how to tackle it,” she said.

“We also believe it will demonstrate to beneficiaries, funders and the people who support and donate to charities, that charities do take the threat seriously and are actively working to safeguard their organisations’ assets and reputation.”

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Regulator opens inquiry into humanitarian aid charity

The Charity Commission is looking into the governance of Anaya Aid, which works in Syria, after port officials seized thousands of pounds from it on two separate occasions

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into a humanitarian aid charity that works in Syria after thousands of pounds of cash belonging to the organisation was seized by port officials on two separate occasions.

The regulator said it had opened the inquiry into Anaya Aid, which has the object of providing international humanitarian aid during emergency situations, after the charity ignored a warning from the commission that it should not try to take large amounts of cash across borders.

The commission said in a statement today it was told by police in December 2015 that a trustee and a former trustee of the charity had been stopped by UK port officials and about £5,000 of cash belonging to the charity had been seized.

The regulator said that, although the funds were returned, it warned the charity about the risks involved in couriering large sums of charitable funds.

In February, the commission and police issued a warning to charities telling them to avoid cash couriering because of the risks involved.

But the commission said that, in April 2017, it was told by police that the same trustee had again been stopped by UK port officials and cash totalling €23,000 (about £20,300) and £1,500 had been seized.

The regulator said the funds were subject to a cash detention order and were at risk of loss in the event of a successful forfeiture application by police.

The commission said it had also carried out three compliance visits to the charity because of a range of regulatory concerns, “particularly in relation to the charity’s work in Syria and the partners it has used”.

The regulator said: “The trustees have put charity funds at risk of loss on a number of occasions and have failed to comply with the commission’s regulatory advice and guidance.”

It said it had issued an order under section 84 of the Charities Act 2011, directing the trustees “to take specific actions within set timeframes” and issued a further order under section 76(3)(f) of the act, restricting certain transactions that the trustees can enter into without the commission’s prior consent.

Anaya Aid had an income of £418,347 in the year to the end of February 2016, according to its entry on the Charity Commission’s online register, up from £72,052 in the previous year.

The commission said the inquiry would examine such issues as whether the trustees had put the charity’s funds at risk by allowing a trustee of the charity to carry the charity’s funds in cash while travelling in a convoy; the inability of the trustees to adequately account for the end use of the charity’s aid; and trustees’ failure to comply with regulatory advice and guidance from the commission.

The charity did not respond to a request for comment from Third Sector.

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Women more generous for office charity collections, says CAF survey

An online survey for the Charities Aid Foundation finds that 66 per cent of women responded to office charity appeals last year, compared with 49 per cent of men

Women are more generous than men at responding to office charity collections, according to the Charities Aid Foundation.

An online survey of more than 1,000 people commissioned by CAF in March found that 66 per cent of women had responded to office charity appeals in the past year, compared with 49 per cent of men.

Overall, staff donated a mean average of £46.53 over the year. Of the 30 per cent who had sponsored a colleague to do something for charity, the median average donation was £10.

CAF, which is the UK’s largest payroll-giving provider, published the figures to mark the 30th anniversary of payroll giving.

The research, which was conducted by YouGov for CAF’s UK Giving survey, also found that 50 per cent of respondents were unaware of payroll giving.

Klara Kozlov, head of corporate clients at CAF, said charity appeals at work helped to boost morale as well as benefit good causes.

“While most people will find the money to make donations on an ad-hoc basis, some prefer a more structured approach,” she said. “Payroll giving enables people to make donations direct from their pre-tax pay each month.”

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Regulator launches statutory inquiry into regeneration charity where £90k went missing

NSA Afan, based in Port Talbot, south Wales, reported the theft to the Charity Commission in May last year

The Charity Commission has launched a statutory inquiry into a Welsh community regeneration charity after £90,000 of the charity’s funds went missing following a theft.

NSA Afan, based in Port Talbot, south Wales, contacted the regulator in May 2016 to report a theft at the charity, “with £90,000 of the charity’s funds unaccounted for”, according to the commission.

The charity, which provides community learning and employability schemes in Neath and Port Talbot, had an income of £1.5m and spending of £1.6m in the year to 31 March 2016.

After the serious incident report was submitted, the commission opened a monitoring case to oversee the charity’s response.

In a statement published today, the commission said the monitoring case had prompted “serious concerns about the charity’s governance and internal controls and the apparent failure of the trustees to remedy these issues, placing the charity’s property and its operations at risk”.

Because of these concerns, the commission opened a statutory inquiry in February this year.

The inquiry will examine the charity’s financial controls, its management and application of charitable funds and assets, its governance and whether the charity’s decision-making processes are adequate, especially for handling conflicts of interest.

It will also examine whether the trustees have acted prudently and exercised reasonable care in respect of the day-to-day running of the charity, according to the commission.

In January, the Welsh government suspended funding to the charity amid allegations of the misuse of public funds. 

NSA Afan was due to receive £526,800 in grant funding to deliver the Welsh government’s Communities First programme in Sandfields and Aberavon up to 31 March, but was told on 12 December the funding had been suspended with effect from 1 December, leaving the charity concerned about its future viability.

Ian Isaac, chief executive of NSA Afan, told Third Sector that 12 members of its staff had now been transferred to the local authority because the charity was unable to continue running some of its services without the funding. He said it had been able to continue providing other services out of its own income.

Today the commission said it had been liaising closely with the Welsh government, which it said also had concerns about the governance of the charity.

Isaac described the commission’s concerns about the charity’s governance as “sweeping allegations without evidence”, but said the charity was cooperating fully with the inquiry.

In January, South Wales Police said a 35-year-old woman from the Port Talbot area was arrested on suspicion of theft on 11 August 2016 after a complaint was made by NSA Afan, and had been bailed while the police investigation continued.

Today a police spokesman said: “South Wales Police is continuing to investigate and it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this stage.”

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Nearly half of charity workers ‘already seeing effects of Brexit’

The latest Charity Pulse survey from Third Sector nevertheless finds that impending Brexit has had little effect on staff motivation

Almost 50 per cent of charity workers say they are already seeing the effects of Brexit on their charities, Third Sector’s Charity Pulse survey shows.

The study, carried out annually by Third Sector and Birdsong Charity Consulting since 2007, asks UK charity workers questions about areas such as their workload, job satisfaction and how they feel about their pay.

This year’s survey found morale among voluntary sector workers had reached its highest level since 2008 and showed improvements in almost all areas relating to staff satisfaction compared with 12 months ago.

This year’s study also included a special section on what charity workers felt about Brexit and the impact it might have on their organisations.

This found that 47 per cent of those surveyed said they were already seeing the effects of Brexit on their charity.

A further 32 per cent said they were not aware of any specific impacts but were concerned about what might happen, and 13 per cent said they were not seeing any specific impact. The remainder did not know.

The most common concern about the effects of Brexit on their organisations was around funding, but the effect on partnerships or projects were also major concerns.

Researchers also found that more than three-quarters of respondents said they felt negative or very negative about Brexit. Only 9 per cent said they felt positive or very positive, with the remainder feeling the same or a mixture of emotions.

Despite this, 80 per cent of charity workers surveyed said Brexit was not affecting their motivation at work. The survey found that 9 per cent said they felt less motivated, while 7 per cent felt more motivated. The remainder were unsure.

A report from Birdsong about the findings says Brexit is having a major effect on UK charities. “It is striking at the heart of the sector’s values – and charity people are deeply affected by it,” the report says.

But it adds that a kind of “Blitz spirit” of endurance and defiance is emerging across the sector.

“Despite the heartfelt views expressed by respondents to this survey, we are not seeing a drop in staff satisfaction levels,” it says. “In fact, there are significant increases in some key areas of the survey this year.

“After almost a decade of uncertainty and turmoil, the sector is showing its mettle – and its resilience,” it says.

The survey was completed in the spring by 245 people from more than 110 UK charities.

The full report will be available from the Birdsong website from Friday

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