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Charity and Voluntary Sector
CO: Recipients of the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2013 have been honoured on the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty’s coronation. This unique UK national honour was created over a decade ago by Her Majesty to mark the Golden Jubilee in 2002 and to recognise the outstanding contributions made to local communities by groups of volunteers; it has an equivalent status for voluntary groups as the MBE has for individuals.
DWP: Delegates from more than 60 family charities & organisations convened in London last week as the government opened a second round of bidding for new funding to help separated families work together for the sake of their children.
Bidding for second round of the Innovation Fund opened closes at 10am on 17 June 2013. Applications for the funding can be made online.
PC&PE: The Public Accounts Committee has published its 7th report of Session 2013-14 which, on the basis of evidence from the Charity Commission and HM Revenue & Customs, examined the Cup Trust & the Commission’s procedures for regulating charities.
The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the CPA, said: “My Committee does not believe the Cup Trust ever met the legal criteria to qualify as a registered charity. Its purpose was to avoid UK tax. Despite its staggering level of ‘income’, £176m, the Trust has only ever given the paltry sum of £55,000 to charitable causes – 3p for every £100 it received in donations. Any good this did was far outweighed by the potential loss from tax avoidance, as well as the damage to the reputation of the Commission and charity sector”.
BIG: The Big Lottery Fund is seeking a lead partner to manage & deliver a new £25m UK-wide programme, Rethink Good Health, to tackle late onset of alcohol misuse amongst older people.
Alcohol misuse amongst older people is a growing concern amongst health professionals placing increasing demands on relationships, community services and the NHS:
Alcohol misuse amongst older people is a growing concern amongst health professionals placing increasing demands on relationships, community services and the NHS:
* It is estimated that over 1.4m or over 14% of older men and women in the UK drink over safe limits
* In England in 2012/13 there were more admissions to hospital of pensioners for alcohol-related injuries and illness than of 16 to 24 year olds
NE: Natural England has received initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) under its Skills for the Future programme for its ‘Nurturing Nature Conservation Skills using National Nature Reserves’ project.
The project aims to develop a pool of 99 recruits to look after England’s most valuable wildlife by teaching them environment heritage skills. The proposal is for a 4-year programme starting in May 2014.
The project aims to develop a pool of 99 recruits to look after England’s most valuable wildlife by teaching them environment heritage skills. The proposal is for a 4-year programme starting in May 2014.
10DS: The work of a network of churches, social enterprises & charities working together to help people most in need in their local communities, has been recognised by PM David Cameron with a Big Society Award.
The Cinnamon Network provides small start-up grants of up to £2,000 to churches to fund social action projects including Street Pastors in Manchester, a befriending scheme for isolated older people in Wokingham and debt advice services in Bradford.
The Cinnamon Network provides small start-up grants of up to £2,000 to churches to fund social action projects including Street Pastors in Manchester, a befriending scheme for isolated older people in Wokingham and debt advice services in Bradford.
PC&PE: The Charity Commission being asked to do too much, with too little, says the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) in its report on the implementation of the Charities Act 2006.
However, among its findings, PASC has reported on the state of the legislation that regulates charities and their charitable status and says that: ‘One of the keys tests set by the Charities Act 2006 for determining charitable status—the public benefit test—is “critically flawed” and that charities should publish their spending on campaigning and political activity’.
However, among its findings, PASC has reported on the state of the legislation that regulates charities and their charitable status and says that: ‘One of the keys tests set by the Charities Act 2006 for determining charitable status—the public benefit test—is “critically flawed” and that charities should publish their spending on campaigning and political activity’.
