Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector

Charity Commission

Inquiry Report

The Commission has released its statutory inquiry report into Jamia Hanfia Ghosia Mosque and Princess Street Resource Centre (1079117). The Commission had originally opened a regulatory compliance case and subsequently a statutory inquiry, after there were concerns about the trustee elections. Following advice from the Commission an independent election specialist was engaged by the charity, but the former trustees still delayed and disputed the membership list, making it unfeasible to hold an election on the proposed date. The inquiry focused on ensuring that a free and open election took place in June 2022 and that the charity was on a good governance footing going forwards.

New Inquiry

The Charity Commission has announced that it has opened a statutory inquiry to investigate funds raised for charitable purposes by and on behalf of Aozma Sultana. Ms Sultana was sanctioned by the UK government following suspected involvement in providing financial support for Gaza Now, a news agency that promotes Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Tax and VAT

New VAT relief for donated goods which charities will give away

The Treasury has announced it will launch (before 23 July 2024) a consultation on introducing a targeted VAT relief for low value goods which businesses donate to charities. Currently there’s a disparity in that firms do not pay VAT on any goods they donate which are then sold on by a charity. However, if these goods are not sold but are instead distributed by the charity free of charge to those in need, the donor firm must account for VAT on the value of the items donated. The new VAT relief will address this, with the aim of encouraging charitable giving. The Treasury says:

  • Donations that could be in scope of the proposed new VAT relief could include anything that may be of use to a household, such as: hygiene items, second hand items and cleaning supplies.
  • The new VAT relief will not include goods which are donated to charities for them to use, such as new IT equipment. The consultation will seek views on this.

Charity Tax Group provided comment on this news.

Appeal to Upper Tribunal re fundraising events VAT exemption

HMRC has been granted permission to appeal the decision in Yorkshire Agricultural Society to the Upper Tribunal. This is a case about the breadth of the VAT exemption for fundraising events. The appeal is against a May 2023 First Tier Tribunal decision that the income received by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society for admission to the annual Great Yorkshire Show in 2016 and 2017 qualified for exemption from VAT under the fundraising exemption. HMRC had argued that the terms of the VAT exemption were not met as the event was not one whose primary purpose was the raising of money and the event was not promoted as being primarily for the raising of money. However, the First Tier Tribunal disagreed, finding that the VAT exemption did not require fundraising to be the foremost purpose of the event. The Tribunal found that the show had two interdependent purposes, fundraising and education; neither was more important than the other, and on that basis the VAT exemption applied. The case is of significance as the Upper Tribunal decision will be binding precedent about the scope of the fundraising exemption.

Climate change and environment

Bates Wells Partner Leticia Jennings discusses the recent success of Verein KlimSeniorinnen Schweiz (Swiss Climate Senior Women Association) – a group of older women suing Switzerland to demand climate action.

Cybersecurity

The British Library has published a paper about the cyber-attack that took place against it last October. The paper ends with a list of 16 lessons learned, one of which is that “all senior officers and Board members need to have a clear and holistic understanding of cyber-risk, in order to make optimal strategic investment choices. Current risks and mitigations should be frequently and regularly discussed at senior officer level. The recruitment of a Board member or Board-level adviser with cyber expertise is strongly recommended.”

Funders and funding

Applications are open for funding in the latest round of the government’s Transport Research and Innovation Grant. Organisations and academics can apply for up to £45,000 in funding for projects which aim to improve transport across the country. Previous recipients include RideTandem, a B-Corp, which created an app-based shuttle bus service for employers and schools, aimed at areas where traditional public transport was not viable.

Fundraising

See two items above under Tax and VAT.

Fundraising Regulator levy increases

The Fundraising Regulator has announced an increase to the fundraising levy and registration fee. The proposed increase to the fundraising levy will take effect over two years, beginning in September 2024. Charities who spend the most on fundraising will see the biggest increase, and from September 2026 the levy will increase on an annual basis taking into consideration the Consumer Price Index. The cost of registration will also increase by £10.

Legacies

Remember A Charity has published findings from their annual consumer tracking study. Findings include that there has been an increase in charitable donors writing wills and pledging gifts to charities, for example, more than 1 in 5 charity donors aged 40 and over have included a charitable gift in their will, up from 1 in 7 in 2010 and almost two thirds of supporters have written a will.

Data protection

New guidance for the health and social care sector

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced the publication of its guidance, Transparency in health and social care. The guidance:

  • Is aimed at any organisation that delivers a health or social care service or uses health and social care information.
  • Will help health and social care organisations to understand the definition of transparency under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 as it applies to their sector, assess appropriate levels of transparency, as well as to provide practical steps to developing effective transparency information.
  • Supplements existing ICO guidance on the principle of transparency and the right to be informed.

Data breach by housing association

The ICO has issued a reprimand to Clyde Valley Housing Association after personal information was accessible to other residents in an online customer portal. The information included personal details such as names, addresses and dates of birth, as well as documents related to anti-social behaviour. Despite the breach being flagged to a customer services advisor at the Association, the information remained accessible for five days.

Public procurement and subsidy control

Last week, a second batch of documents were published in the guidance section of Government’s Transforming Public Procurement web pages. This new collection comprises guidance on:

  • National Procurement Policy Statement
  • Pipeline notices
  • Planned procurement notices
  • Preliminary Market Engagement
  • Technical specifications

Scotland

Maureen Mallon, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator’s (OSCR) Chief Executive, will retire at the end of June 2024. Katriona Carmichael, Deputy Director for Circular Economy in the Environment & Forestry Directorate of the Scottish Government, will take over the role.

Health and social care

See first item above under Data protection.

According to Hospice UK’s quarterly financial benchmarking survey, the UK hospice sector is facing a collective estimated deficit of £77 million in the financial year 2023-24. Payroll costs have surged by 11%, which equals approximately £130 million in additional spending over the full year. This is partly because hospices recruit from the same pool of staff as the NHS, meaning they aim to match NHS pay and conditions to attract and retain skilled staff.

The Department of Health and Social Care has opened a call for evidence as part of its review into the duty of candour for health and social care providers in England. The duty of candour in this context relates to openness and transparency from a person’s health or care provider, as established by regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The duty applies to all health and social care providers regulated by the Care Quality Commission. The call for evidence is open until 29 May 2024, with responses requested through an online survey.

The Care Quality Commission has provided an update on its programme of Independent Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews. Its review panels will start in late May, with a focus on ensuring people who are autistic or who have a learning disability have an independent care and treatment review to move out of long term segregation.

Safeguarding

The Disclosure and Barring Service is hosting an online conference on 30 April 2024, which will be streamed on LinkedIn.

International development

This Bond article discusses the most recent review of the UK’s action on aid and development by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee. Bond questions the ability of a peer review system’s effectiveness in holding OECD members to account and calls for radical reform of the body to create a more accountable aid system.

Education

General

The Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, and the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, hosted an EdTech roundtable. Teachers, education professionals and technology companies were brought together to discuss collaboration, the use of technology and artificial intelligence to boost education outcomes for children and the importance of safe usage.

As you’ll no doubt be aware from substantial press coverage, the final report of the Cass Review has been published. The Review was commissioned by NHS England to make recommendations on how to improve NHS gender identity services and ensure that children/young people who are questioning their gender identity or experiencing gender dysphoria receive a high standard of care. Recommendations include that services should establish a separate pathway for pre-pubertal children and their families, and children/young people must receive a holistic assessment of their needs to inform an individualised care plan including screening for neurodevelopmental conditions and a mental health assessment.

Schools

The Department for Education (DfE) has opened a consultation on proposed changes to strengthen safeguarding requirements in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework. The consultation closes on 17 June 2024.

The DfE has also opened a technical consultation on the experience-based route for early years practitioners. The consultation closes on 20 May 2024.

The Confederation of Schools Trusts (CST) has published a report on reforming school funding in England. CST found funding is currently too unpredictable and is not calculated against the actual costs facing schools. Recommendations for reform include a fully implemented national funding formula which integrates long standing additional funding (such as the pupil premium) and the introduction of a policy premium mechanism to provide a route for time-limited additional funding beyond the three main funding streams.

The High Court has upheld the decision of the governing body of a secular secondary free school to prohibit its pupils from performing prayer rituals on its premises (prayer ritual policy or PRP). Reasoning for the judgment includes that the PRP did not interfere with the Claimant’s freedom to manifest her religious beliefs under Article 9 ECHR, because she had voluntarily accepted the school’s secular and strict nature and there was no evidence that moving to a different school would present undue hardship and inconvenience. The PRP was also justified given the ethos of the school and practicalities of facilitating prayer for Muslim pupils at lunchtime (there was inadequate space on site for a prayer room). Moreover, even though not permitting the Claimant to perform the Duhr prayer within the allotted time was a “detriment” for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, and that the PRP put Muslim pupils at a “particular disadvantage” it was a “proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aims” of the school. The school also had due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, to advance equality of opportunity and to foster good relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, and had complied with the public sector equality duty. The wider implications of this case are not clear, given the school’s very particular ethos in this case. There has been sector comment on the case including this article by Schools Week.

Higher Education

Office for Students (OfS) is calling for evidence on its approach to public grant funding. The call for evidence is seeking views across three broad areas: the activities that OfS currently funds, how funding allocation is determined and the factors that are prioritised in the decision-making process. Responses will help OfS identify and consider the options for a reformed OfS funding model. The deadline for responses is 23 May 2024. See press release here.

Disclaimer – The information contained in this update is not intended to be a comprehensive update – it is our selection of the website announcements made in the week up to last Friday which we think will be of interest to charities and social enterprises. The content is necessarily of a general nature – specific advice should always be sought for specific situations.