Charity

Thousands of charities could be eligible for hundreds of thousands of pounds in awards related to unresolved banking disputes.  A not-for-profit dispute facility, the Business Banking Resolution Service, estimates about 6,000 UK charities could be eligible for help.  The BBRS was set up to resolve disputes between small to medium enterprises including businesses, charities and

A charity that provides legal representation for people who have been treated unfairly by public bodies was left £50,000 out of pocket after it was incorrectly unable to access legal aid.  The Law Centre charity represented three EU citizens living in the UK who the Home Office had decided should be deported after they were

A trio of related charity trustees used tens of thousands of pounds of charitable funds to purchase high-end cars including Bentleys for their personal use and lived rent-free in charitable premises, the Charity Commission has concluded.  The regulator has published a report detailing its inquiry into the Manor Building Preservation Trust, which acquired and restored

Charities in England are being invited to apply for grants of up to £500,000 as part of government plans to improve people’s access to nature.  The new £6m Trees Call to Action Fund will finance up to 24 regional or national projects managed by partnerships of environmental charities, not-for-profit organisations, local authorities and protected landscape

Tributes have been paid to a charity founder and prolific fundraiser who died in a paddleboarding incident over the weekend.  Former soldier Paul O’Dwyer, 42, was one of three people who lost their lives on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, on Saturday.  The events surrounding the deaths are being investigated by emergency services. O’Dwyer

National Trust members have rejected two resolutions put forward by the protest group Restore Trust at the charity’s annual general meeting this weekend, amid a record turnout for AGM and council election voting. But three of the protest group’s preferred candidates were elected to serve a three-year term on the charity’s council – although one

“The good, the bad and the ugly,” said one membership body as voluntary sector organisations reacted to Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 2021 Autumn Budget.  Sector leaders, charities, unions and the shadow civil society minister gave a mixed response to the budget, and warned that missing elements will “spell bad news for millions”. Sunak’s statement included the

The chief executive of the British Psychological Society has returned to his position after a fraud-related internal inquiry cleared him of any involvement.  The charity reported an allegation of fraud involving a former staff member to police following an internal investigation last year.  Sarb Bajwa, chief executive of the BPS, was asked to step aside

The government is preparing to pilot a multimillion-pound grants application portal intended to simplify the process of applying for funding for charities and voluntary sector organisations. The £7.9m project was announced as part of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 2021 Autumn Budget statement, which promised funding and reliefs worth billions of pounds to the sector. The development

A charity that failed to report that armed groups had seized a warehouse and three of its trucks in Syria has been found guilty of misconduct and mismanagement by the regulator. The Charity Commission opened a compliance case into Human Appeal, a charity set up for the prevention or relief of poverty or financial hardship

Scottish charities with an income of more than £500,000 account for 92 per cent of the total income of all charities in the country, according to new research.  The findings of Scottish Charities 2021, published by the Scottish Charity Regulator, sets out the current state of the country’s charity sector, which has a total income

More than nine in 10 charities in England and Wales do not plan to make any staff redundant in the next 12 months, according to new research. The Covid-19 Survey 2021, published by the Charity Commission, found that nearly all charities (91 per cent) have experienced some negative impact from Covid-19. Most charities made limited

The Charity Commission’s budget will increase by £1.5m next year as part of a new funding settlement announced in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 2021 Autumn Budget statement yesterday. The regulator’s operational funding will rise from £28.3m this year to £29.8m in 2022. It will then dip to £29m in 2023, but increase slightly in 2024 to £29.3m.

The Good Law Project has launched legal proceedings against the culture secretary Nadine Dorries, arguing there has been ministerial interference in hiring the new chair of the Charity Commission. The campaign group is seeking a court order to re-run the recruitment process “without political direction from government”, adding: “It’s not the Charity Commission’s job to

More than 30 young climate activists occupied the Science Museum overnight in protest against the charity’s fossil fuel sponsors. The group of activists, scientists and campaigners from the London branch of the UK Student Climate Network were still in the building as the doors opened to the public this morning. The protest followed increased pressure

Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, unveiled his Autumn Budget in the House of Commons today. Sunak has been under pressure to help people with the cost of living as he announced plans that he hopes will transition the economy beyond the pandemic.  Here are some of the main points of his statement that

Just one in 10 people living in areas prioritised for levelling up funding trust central government to make decisions on spending in their communities, according to a new study. YouGov polling for the The Law Family Commission on Civil Society revealed that nearly two-thirds of people in the priority areas want decisions on how to

A preferred candidate for the role of permanent chair of the Charity Commission has been chosen, the government has revealed. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed that interviews for the role, which had been delayed, have now taken place and said it will announce the identity of the person it wants to take up the position

The national poverty charity Turn2Us has revealed a new brand and strapline chosen to better reflect its purpose. The charity said its new look and refreshed strapline – “Tackling financial insecurity together” – would help it offer support to greater numbers of people affected by financial insecurity, while tackling the symptoms and causes of poverty.

Amnesty International will close two offices in Hong Kong by the end of 2021, after warning that a national security law is putting the charity’s employees at risk. An office focused on human rights education in Hong Kong will cease operations at the end of October, while a regional office that forms part of the

Rachael Maskell, the shadow charities minister, has questioned why there has been a delay in the government appointing a new permanent chair of the Charity Commission. The Labour and Co-operative MP for York Central asked culture secretary Nadine Dorries about the delay in a written parliamentary question at the end of last week. Baroness Stowell,

The Alzheimer’s Society’s overall income broadly held up last year thanks to an almost 25 per cent rise in individual giving and £4.5m from the government’s furlough scheme.  The charity’s latest annual accounts, for the year to the end of March, show it had a total income of £111.1m, a fall of £2.7m on the

Charity leaders have backed a call for a cross-sector strategy to plug a “data chasm” that is leaving some in the sector “operating in the dark”. A new report for the Law Family Commission on Civil Society, a two-year initiative that was launched in December to examine how the potential of civil society can be unlocked across

HIV Scotland has been fined £10,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office after sending an email that could have revealed the HIV status of dozens of people.  The ICO said it had issued the fine after the charity sent an email in February last year with all recipients’ addresses visible to 105 people, including patient advocates

A number of temporary provisions put in place to help charities navigate the coronavirus pandemic have come to an end. As the pandemic hit in March last year the regulator issued new guidance acknowledging that the nature of Covid-19 meant it might be necessary to cancel or postpone critical meetings, events and annual general meetings on

Amanda Khozi Mukwashi is to step down as chief executive of Christian Aid to take up a new role at the United Nations. Khozi Mukwashi, who joined Christian Aid in April 2018, said she would leave the charity at the end of the year to take up her new position in early 2022. Further details

A youth volunteering charity that closed in 2018 is set to merge with the education charity Speakers for Schools. The charity said it could not disclose the cost of the merger for commercial reasons, but confirmed that it intended to invest in vInspired’s services and brands, alongside its portfolio of programmes. This will include the

A youth volunteering charity that closed in 2018 is set to merge with the education charity Speakers for Schools. The charity said it could not disclose the cost of the merger for commercial reasons, but confirmed that it intended to invest in vInspired’s services and brands, alongside its portfolio of programmes. This will include the

Cats Protection has appointed Charles Darley as interim chief executive for the next year. Darley, who took up the role on 6 October, succeeds James Yeates, who left the animal welfare charity in September to take up the top job at the World Federation for Animals, an international membership body for animal protection organisations. Cats

The Fundraising Regulator plans to review the Code of Fundraising Practice next year with a focus on digital and including raising money on platforms that are not charitable.  Gerald Oppenheim, chief executive of the Fundraising Regulator, discussed the organisation’s ongoing priorities for regulation earlier today at an online conference run by Westminster Policy Forum. Oppenheim