Pirate radio goes digital for Remember A Charity Week

Remember A Charity Week has been launched and for the first time features a digital radio station hosted by the former pirate radio DJ Emperor Rosko.

This year’s campaign has drawn on the DJ’s services to raise awareness about wills specifically among the baby boomer generation, who might remember listening to the original broadcasts of pirate radio.

The shows on Last Pirate FM, which is broadcasting on DAB radio and online between 11 and 15 September, will feature interviews with charities, supporters and celebrities including Twiggy, Wilko Johnson and Keith Skues, discussion shows, music from the 1960s and on-air discussions with the public.

Rosko, who was one of the DJs on Radio Caroline, probably the most famous radio station of the 1960s, before he joined BBC Radio 1, launched the campaign by sailing down the Thames on a recreation of Caroline’s Ross Revenge boat. The ship will travel to historic music locations around the country throughout the week.

This year’s campaign is using the hashtag #HaveyourSay to encourage people to “have your say on the world you want to pass on”, which could include leaving a gift in their wills. A number of Remember A Charity’s 190 member charities have got involved by creating their own jingles, which will be broadcast throughout the week.

Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, said: “This year’s campaign is very different from anything we have done in the past and is possible only due to the involvement of so many charities. Working collaboratively, we can really champion the importance of gifts in wills, creating a cultural change that will take us one step closer to making legacy giving a social norm.”

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The Law Commission has launched a consultation on proposed changes to legacy law, which it says is outdated and often does not allow courts to implement people’s wishes, even if they are clear, because they have not followed legal procedure entirely correctly.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