MPs reject charity exemptions from employer National Insurance increase
The House of Commons voted down amendments to the National Insurance contributions bill which would have mitigated the effects of the rise in employer NI contributions on charities.
The amendments to the bill, which were tabled by MPs across the political spectrum and debated this week, proposed changes that would keep the employer NI contributions rate at 13.8 per cent for a range of charities, hospices and some healthcare providers.
The third reading of the NI contributions bill was passed without any amendments, overwhelmingly by votes from Labour MPs. It will next be debated in the House of Lords.
Tributes paid to ‘force of nature’ who helped establish Chartered Institute of Fundraising
Judith Rich, a “lifelong fundraiser” who helped establish the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and worked with dozens of charities, died aged 89 on 29 November after a short illness.
Rich, a longstanding fellow and volunteer at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, was one of the original fundraisers who helped establish the Institute of Fundraising Managers in 1983 and was “keenly involved in the institute’s development as it became the Institute of Fundraising”, according to the CIoF.
She worked with more than 30 charities in her career as a fundraiser or board member, Ceri Edwards, executive director of change at the CIoF said, adding that she held a number of key roles at the institute.
Hospices to receive £100m funding boost
The government has announced an additional £100m for hospices in what it is calling the “biggest investment in a generation” for the sector.
The Department of Health and Social Care said the two-year funding would ensure that “hospices can continue to deliver the highest quality end-of-life care possible for their patients, families and loved ones”.
But the funding will be for capital projects such as refurbishments, overhauling IT systems and improving facilities for patients and visitors, so it will not help hospices with the anticipated cost rises from the increase in employer National Insurance contributions and the rise to the National Minimum Wage.