ICO’s dedicated GDPR helpline officially opens

The service launched on 1 November and, as well as advice on preparing for the General Data Protection Regulation, gives information on existing rules

The Information Commissioner’s Office has launched a telephone advice line to help charities and small organisations prepare for the new data-protection law the General Data Protection Regulation.

The service, which was officially opened on 1 November, complements the resources on the ICO website designed to help organisations that employ fewer than 250 people, and offers additional, personal advice.

Callers dial the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113 and select option 4 to be diverted to staff who can offer support. As well as advice on preparing for the GDPR, callers can ask questions about existing data-protection rules and other legislation regulated by the ICO, including that concerning electronic marketing and the Freedom of Information Act.

Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said: “Small organisations want to be ready when the new law comes into force in May 2018, but they often struggle to know where to start. They might have less time and money to invest in getting it right and are less likely to have compliance teams, data-protection officers or legal experts to advise them what to do.

“Our new phone service and all the other resources already on our website, plus even more advice and guidance yet to come, will help to steer small businesses through the new law.”

The ICO is expected to publish a guide to the GDPR by the end of the year, which will expand the content of the existing overview to make it a comprehensive guide along the same lines as the current Guide to Data Protection.

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Regulator opens inquiry into charity over unexplained payments to a trustee

The Charity Commission will examine whether the funds of the Orphan Relief Fund and Charitable Trust have been used for charitable purposes

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into a poverty relief charity over allegedly unexplained payments to a trustee and failure to provide records about its spending in Iraq.

The commission announced today that it had opened an inquiry into the Orphan Relief Fund and Charitable Trust following a compliance visit in May, which was carried out because the charity operated in high-risk countries.

The charity provides poverty relief and education for young people who have lost one or more parent, and works in Iraq, Pakistan and Somalia, as well as a number of other countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

During the compliance visit, the commission found that the trustees were unable to provide records about a significant amount of its spending in Iraq between 2013 and 2017.

A number of unexplained payments had also been made to one of the charity’s trustees, the commission said.

The regulator also found that the charity had spent charitable funds on activities that fell outside the charity’s remit.

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According to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission’s website, the trust had an income of £583,485 and spent £596,199 in the year to 31 July 2016.

The latest accounts were submitted 43 days late, the Charity Commission website shows.

The regulator said the inquiry, which was opened on 24 July, would examine the administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees and their conduct.

It will also look at the financial controls and management of the charity and whether its funds have been used for charitable purposes and can be accounted for, as well as whether the trustees have complied with charity law.

The Orphan Relief Fund and Charitable Trust did not respond to a request for comment before Third Sector’s deadline.

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People’s Postcode Lottery opens applications for a share of £4m funding

The lottery is offering money to grassroots sports and arts projects, wildlife projects and those which promote human rights

Three funding pots totalling more than £4m are available for charities and community groups from the People’s Postcode Lottery for projects tacking poverty or supporting human rights, wildlife or recreation.

Projects can apply for grants of between £500 and £20,000 between now and 28 August.

The money will be allocated through three separate trusts: the People’s Postcode Trust, which is seeking to fund projects that focus on preventing poverty, promoting human rights and conflict resolution for vulnerable groups; the Postcode Local Trust which is looking to fund projects supporting wildlife, sustainability, play areas and green spaces; and the Postcode Community Trust, which focuses on grass-roots sports, arts, recreation and healthy living programmes.

Clara Govier, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “More than £4m injected into grass roots projects across Great Britain will have a tremendous impact in local communities.

“Between the three trusts, a very wide range of causes are supported, so I’d urge groups to have a look at the websites to see where their project fits – no matter how big or small – and get applying.”

More than 400 projects, including sports clubs, mental health groups and wildlife conservation charities were awarded with grants in the lottery’s last funding round.

In a statement the People’s Postcode Lottery said its players had raised more than £221.2m for more than 3,000 good causes since it started in 2005.

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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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Regulator opens inquiry into charity that has failed to file accounts for five years

The All Nations Community Centre was previously part of the Charity Commission’s class inquiry into charities that had persistently failed to file annual documents

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into a Gloucestershire-based community centre that has failed to submit any accounts to the regulator since 2011.

The commission said today that it opened the inquiry into the All Nations Community Centre, which provides community activities and educational and social support, after the charity failed to provide accounting information for five financial years from the year ending 30 September 2011.

The charity was previously part of the commission’s class inquiry into charities that have failed to submit their accounts and returns for two or more financial years.

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According to the Charity Commission website, the charity is 1,767 days overdue in filing accounts and/or its annual return for the year to the end of September 2011.

The only annual return or accounts submitted by the charity to the regulator in any of the past five financial years is its annual return for 2011/12, which was received on 18 May this year, 1,388 days late, the commission’s records show.

The commission’s website also shows few contact details for the charity and names none of its trustees.

A commission spokeswoman said the regulator was aware of the charity’s failure to keep its details on the register up-to-date, and was in correspondence with trustees about the issue as part of the inquiry.

According to the charity’s most recent accounts available on Companies House, for the year ending 30 September 2015, the charity made a loss for the year of £6,076 and had a turnover of £39,782.

The Companies House website also shows the charity avoided being struck off the register in February this year, and has one registered company officer.

The Charity Commission said in a statement that its statutory inquiry would consider whether All Nations Community Centre was operating for the public benefit and whether the trustees had complied with their duties and responsibilities.

The inquiry would also focus on the general administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees, specifically regarding the charity’s property, the regulator said.

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