Legacy income ‘could grow by 2.7% a year for next five years’

But the charity legacy consortium Legacy Foresight says the rate of growth could vary depending on the Brexit deal

Charity legacy income could grow by up to 2.7 per cent a year over the next five years, Legacy Foresight has predicted, but the charity legacy consortium said growth could vary, depending on the strength of the Brexit deal.

Legacy Foresight’s latest market forecasts show that legacy income across the sector will grow from the current level of £2.82bn to £3.26bn in 2021.

This would represent an increase of 2.7 per cent a year, but would be less than 1 per cent a year after taking inflation into account.

But the consortium acknowledged that this was only one of a range of possible outcomes for legacies depending on the impact of Brexit. The most optimistic forecast suggests a 4.2 per cent annual market growth, but the most pessimistic prediction would see a growth of just 0.9 per cent.

This means a poor Brexit deal could result in legacy income being £500m lower in 2021 than it would be in a scenario where Britain negotiates a favourable deal, according to Legacy Foresight.

And the most optimistic prediction is lower than the average growth rate of 6.5 per cent a year in the five years leading up to the Brexit referendum.

But even the most pessimistic prediction meant legacy income would still be more than 5 per cent higher than it was last year, Legacy Foresight said.

Chris Farmelo, director of Legacy Foresight, said “The good news is that we do not expect to see a return to the situation after the global financial crisis in 2008, when sector incomes fell and then stagnated. In fact, the number of bequests received by UK charities is predicted to rise over the coming years, due to the climbing death rate.

“However, the value of those bequests will grow much more slowly than of late, due to the uncertain economic situation.”

Farmelo said the average bequest, currently worth about £46,600, would grow by just 1.3 per cent between 2017 and 2021, compared with 2.8 per cent in the preceding five years.

Chris Millward, chief executive of the Institute of Legacy Management, said the projected figures were “extremely interesting” given the level of confusion about what Britain’s exit from the EU might mean.

“While we hope that the central and optimistic forecasts for future legacies are closer to the truth, we are wary of the potential drop in legacy income, which will, of course, have a negative effect on our charity members and the good causes they support,” he said.

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David Biddle to leave change, grow, live after 21 years

Biddle, who has been chief executive of the charity for the past four years, says It is the right time for him to hand over to someone who can take the organisation through its next phase of development

David Biddle, chief executive of the health and social care charity change, grow, live, is to stand down after 21 years with the charity.

A spokeswoman for the charity said Biddle, who has been chief executive of the charity for the past four years and deputy for the previous 17, said it was the “right time to hand over to someone who can take CGL through the next phase of its development”.

Biddle will take a break after he stands down in March or April and then “work on other projects outside the sector, but close to his heart”, the spokeswoman said.

CGL, which changed its name from Crime Reduction Initiatives last year, has grown rapidly in recent years, with income rising from £80.8m in the year to the end of March 2012 to £158.3m in 2015/16.  

Biddle said he would be standing down at the right time with a new strategic planning cycle due to start when he leaves.

“The past 21 years at CGL has been a remarkable experience,” he said. “CGL has been a major part of my life, but this is the right time to hand over to a new leader, someone who can lead the strategic direction of this organisation in the next phase of its development.

“I have no doubt CGL will continue to go from strength to strength.”

The charity has begun the process of recruiting Biddle’s successor. 

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Staff numbers in the sector up by 8 per cent in six years

Figures from the DCMS say the sector employed 891,000 people in 2016, an increase of 8.1 per cent since 2011

Employment in the charity sector has increased by more than 8 per cent since 2011, according to new government figures.

According to figures released by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, the charity sector employed approximately 891,000 people in 2016, an increase of 8.1 per cent since 2011.

This means that the charity sector accounted for 2.7 per cent of all jobs in the UK in 2016.

The figures also show a 2.2 per cent increase in the number of charity workers between 2015 and 2016.

The employment figures include all employees at charities, voluntary organisations and trusts, but exclude volunteers, social enterprises and mutuals.

But the DCMS said the employment figures for the charity sector were an underestimate, partly owing to the recent transfer of the Office for Civil Society to the DCMS from the Cabinet Office last year.

The DCMS figures show that recent increases in the charity sector’s workforce came after a severe contraction in 2012 and 2013 that resulted in approximately 76,000 people leaving the sector.

EU nationals accounted for 4 per cent of the charity sector’s workforce, and non-EU overseas nationals accounted for 2.9 per cent, the figures show.

The DCMS statistics also show that 93.2 per cent of employees in the civil society sector were employed, as opposed to self-employed.

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Former head of finance at Cyrenians Cymru jailed for five years

Robert Mark Davies, 50, defrauded the now defunct charity of more than £1.3m over six years, causing it to go into administration in 2015; 75 staff lost their jobs

The former head of finance at a now defunct Welsh homelessness charity has been jailed for five years for defrauding the charity of more than £1.3m in order to buy expensive holidays and boats.

Robert Mark Davies, 50, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty on 18 April to one count of fraud by abuse of position during his time as head of finance at Cyrenians Cymru.

Davies’s fraud, which was worth £1,343,074 over six years, caused the charity to enter administration in 2015.

Davies was dismissed from the charity, which was based in Swansea, in 2014 and was arrested the same year after an investigation by South Wales Police’s economic crime unit.

The charity, which had an income of £2.2m in the year to the end of March 2013, employed 75 staff.

Detective Sergeant Stuart Prendiville of South Wales Police said: “Davies abused both his position as an employee of Cyrenians Cymru and his responsibility to safeguard the financial interests of this organisation.

“Davies stole in excess of £1.3m from the charity over a six-year period, which he used to fund a lavish lifestyle including extravagant holidays and the purchase of several boats. This ultimately was a factor that led to the charity becoming insolvent and the tragic loss of a number of support services provided to the homeless and vulnerable people of Swansea.”

The boats have been seized by South Wales Police and will be sold as part of proceeds of crime confiscation proceedings.

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Private schools ‘will save £522m in business rates tax relief in next five years’

According to the business rates firm CVS, 586 of 1,038 private schools in England and Wales have charitable status and are therefore entitled to 80 per cent mandatory business rates tax relief

Charitable private schools will save £522m on business rates over the next five years because of their charitable status, according to new research.

The figures are based on requests to 132 councils made under the Freedom of Information Act by the business rates firm CVS, which found that 586 out of 1,038 private schools in England and Wales had charitable status and were therefore entitled to the 80 per cent mandatory business rates tax relief.

All charities are entitled to the 80 per cent relief from business rates, with a further 20 per cent available on a discretionary basis.

CVS also analysed government figures on private schools and found that 2,707 properties were classified as private schools.

These schools had a combined rateable value of £386.6m based on the last property assessment in 2010, but this has since risen by 19.6 per cent to £462.5m, CVS said.

CVS estimated that private schools could pay almost £1.2bn in business rates over the next five years if the business rates revaluation were to take place, but their charitable status meant that this figure would fall to £634.3m. 

CVS also released the figures for some well-known private schools that will save substantial sums over the next five years because of the business rates exemption.

For example, Eton College, which was attended by the former Prime Minister David Cameron, will pay £821,040 in business rates over the next five years, but would face a bill of £4.1m over the same period if it were not a registered charity.

Dulwich College in south London, which was attended by the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, will pay £786,752 in business rates over the next five years, compared with a potential tax bill of £3.9m if it did not have charitable status, according to CVS.

Waverley Borough Council in Surrey grants the highest amount of business rate relief to private schools, the research shows, with five London boroughs also making the top 10.

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Partnerships round-up: Greene King raises £3m for Macmillan in five years

Plus: Wilko smashes yearly target; Masterclass Trust announces partnership with Waldorf Hilton; Barclays events raise £32k for Leeds Mencap

The pub chain Greene King has has raised £3m over the past five years for Macmillan Cancer Support through fundraising events including cake sales, raffles, quizzes and donating a percentage of the sales of its desserts.

The next campaign the company has planned is Miles for Macmillan, in which the company’s 43,000 employees plus customers will be invited to walk, run, bike or swim enough miles to reach the moon – a quarter of a million in total. The challenge will include a team climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

The homeware retailer Wilko has raised £1.3m for local and national charities in the year to the end of April, it has announced.

The company smashed its target of £1m through staff fundraising, with employees at Wilko’s 402 stores, two distribution centres and head office taking part in sponsored walks, bike rides, bake-offs, charity football matches, body waxing and more.

Charities that benefited from their efforts included the Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, the Children’s Air Ambulance, the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland and East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices.

The Masterclass Trust, an education charity run by London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket, has announced a partnership with the Waldorf Hilton hotel.

In 2015, the hotel, with the Hilton in the Community Foundation, raised more than £17,000 for the Masterclass Trust, which helps young people into creative industries through apprenticeships, workshops and support from industry professionals.  

Guy Hilton, general manager of the Waldorf Hilton, said: “It’s vitally important for us to give something back to the community and we’re very much looking forward to embarking on this new partnership.”

Branches of Barclays in Yorkshire and north-east England raised £32,500 last year for the learning disability charity Leeds Mencap through events including a corporate golf day, a rowathon and a sporting dinner.

The money will go towards supporting very young children with learning disabilities at the charity’s specialist playroom.

Dawn Spencer, business manager at Barclays, said: “Barclays has supported Leeds Mencap for years, but last year we reached a whole new level.”

She said the business was keen to support the playroom because it was crucial that very young children with learning disabilities received early intervention support when they most needed it.

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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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Marks & Spencer pledges to raise £25m for charity over eight years

The retailer has set out a new strategy also promising provision of one million staff volunteering hours over the same period

The retailer Marks & Spencer has pledged to raise £25m for charity, provide one million staff volunteering hours and make £1m available to community businesses in partnership with the charitable trust Power to Change.

The retailer’s sustainability scheme, called Plan A 2025 and launched today, will focus on three key strands over the next eight years: health, environmental concerns and transforming communities and lives.

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M&S said it hoped to raise the money for charities tackling cancer, heart disease, mental health problems, loneliness and dementia, including Breast Cancer Now, Macmillan Cancer Support and the mental health charity Frazzled Cafe by 2025. It will reveal how the money is to be raised later in the year.

Power to Change will be one of the retailer’s partners for one of the plan’s key commitments – a pilot programme working with local councils and charity partners to deliver measurable change through supporting community businesses.

M&S has identified 10 areas where it has a presence and that have social problems the retailer believes it can help to deal with for the pilot programme.

The areas are Birmingham, Norwich, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Rochdale, Newham in east London, Bradford, Glasgow, Londonderry/Derry and Merthyr Tydfil.

Power to Change will support the three-year pilot programme in the seven locations in England by speaking to local voluntary sector organisations to assess what is needed and which community organisations and businesses can be supported.

The trust will make £1m from its Big Lottery Fund endowment available to support community business through the scheme, and M&S staff will provides skills and mentoring in retail, customer research, marketing, finance, and supply chains.

M&S said in a statement that it aims to roll out the scheme to 100 further locations in the UK and internationally by 2023 and 1,000 by 2025.

It will also collaborate with Oxfam over three years to explore the connection between sourcing practices and human rights impacts in the UK and India.

Mike Barry, director of Plan A at M&S, said the company’s new strategy would force the company “to address questions for which we don’t have all the answers to yet and collaborate with others to drive true change across consumer goods industries”.

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