Charity Times

Welfare reforms will penalise the vulnerable, warns Unite

Britain’s largest union, Unite, today urged MPs to oppose the Welfare Reform Bill, warning that it will hit low paid working people, push over 200,000 thousand children into poverty and leave some families with as little as 62p per person per day to live on. The move comes as MPs consider amendments made by the House of Lords to the Bill, including the controversial cap on benefits.

Demos: Mentoring schemes benefit mentors and mentees

An evaluation by the think-tank Demos finds that mentoring programmes can offer direct, positive outcomes – including on aspirations, a sense of agency, and soft skills – for both mentors and mentees. It finds that two-thirds of mentors surveyed believed that their experience had given them extra professional and ‘soft’ skills. When those who felt it was ‘too early to say’ were discounted, this figure grew to 90 per cent.

Government invests £30 million in local charity support

These projects will also make it easier for organisations to forge better links with local businesses, develop stronger partnerships with local public sector bodies and for people to volunteer. Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd said: "This fund is not designed to support 'business as usual' - it's about making things better for the frontline. It's about supporting organisations with innovative business plans who want to play their part in modernising the landscape of local infrastructure.

Mental health is costing billions says think-tank

A failure to treat people with mental health problems and get them back into work is costing the government, employers and society �£67bn a year. A think-tank has revealed that a lack of understanding and support in the workplace and gaps in services have led to mental health problems becoming one of society’s costliest issues. New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), which works with charities and funders, says rising unemployment and a tough economic environment is making it even harder for people with mental health problems to find work.

Sixteen projects benefit from Social Action Fund

Over �£9 million has been awarded in the first window the Social Action Fund which is managed by The Social Investment Business on behalf of the Cabinet Office. Sixteen social action projects in England have had grants ranging from �£100,000 to �£2 million from the Fund to provide teaching support, increase citizenship awareness, improve green spaces in cities, and provide services to homeless people, disadvantaged young people and local communities.

The College of Social Work launches

The College of Social Work celebrates its launch today, with a strong defence of the profession in the face of unprecedented change. Social work is going through unprecedented change. The profession urgently needs a College through which to take control of its standards, speak with a strong voice to policy makers and promote excellence in practice for the profession and the people that it serves.

Funding announced for new third sector apprenticeships

Skills – Third Sector has announced that new advanced apprenticeships in campaigning, fundraising and volunteer management have been approved by the National Apprenticeships Service for funding by the Skills Funding Agency. This means that third sector employers can now get help towards the training costs of apprenticeships in these professions. Keith Mogford, chief executive of Skills – Third Sector, sais: “This news represents the culmination of a lot of hard work on the part of Skills – Third Sector and partners in the sector. I hope that the new apprenticeship frameworks are sought out by employers, as they should be.”

Labour Shadow Ministers host sector event

Labour Shadow Ministers Gareth Thomas MP (Charities) Sharon Hodgson MP (Children and Families), Karen Buck MP (Education) and Chris Williamson MP (Communities and Local Government) hosted a summit of charity and voluntary sector groups to discuss the impact of the Government’s policies on children’s charities and the services they provide today.

Blackbaud introduces sector credit card transaction processing

Blackbaud has announced today that Blackbaud Merchant Services is now available to all UK customers using its The Raiser’s Edge product, offering not-for-profits an integrated payment and donation processing solution. The Blackbaud Merchant Services rates are 2.75%, plus 25p per transaction for Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, and 3.5% plus 25p per transaction for American Express.

A new Scottish coalition launched to build debate on constitutional future

A new coalition is being launched today to build a Scotland-wide debate about the constitutional future of the country. Alison Elliot, Convener, SCVO, said: "We need to shift the debate on the future of Scotland from powers, legality and timing to consider what we want Scotland to look like in the future, how we could do things differently and how to engage more people in this historic discussion. So far we have only heard from those who have a fixed idea of the result they want in the referendum and who seek to narrow the debate. This coalition will build a wide reaching, transparent discussion about the future of our country that considers people's aspirations and the challenges they face."

CFDG and Cass review 10 years of risk management

CFDG has published Managing risk in charities: Lessons from the past decade and a look into the future today at its Risk Conference 2012. Based on research by Paul Bennett and Tim Gage, two researchers from Cass Business School, this paper explores themes in the development of risk management in the sector and makes recommendations for improving practice. The research was based on 10 years of findings from the CFDG/PKF Risk Surveys, focus groups with senior finance professionals in the sector and interviews with a case study identified as demonstrating good practice.

Age UK report highlights social care crisis

Age UK’s new Care in Crisis 2012 report shows that this year spending on older people’s social care in England has fallen half a billion pounds short of even maintaining the inadequate levels of provision in place when the Coalition came to power. In order to maintain the same levels of service as in 2010, Age UK’s projections show that Government ought to be spending �£7.8 billion this year. In fact councils have only budgeted �£7.3 billion in the face of substantial reductions in central government funding.

British Museum secures £10m Lottery investment

Today, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced confirmed funding of �£15.5m for four heritage projects in London, Stirling, Penzance and Birmingham. The projects are: completing the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre at the British Museum (�£10m); telling the story of the Battle of Bannockburn through state-of-the-art 3D technology (�£3.94m); rejuvenating Porthcurno Museum in Penzance, once the world’s largest cable station �£1.4m);

New report on growth of social investment market

A new report sets out recommendations for catalysing the growth of the social investment market. The report, which has been put together by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations’ (NCVO) Commission on Tax Incentives for Social Investment, explores the current market and makes recommendations for strengthening its role in building a strong economic future whilst also delivering social returns.

Big Society funding creates new social action organisation

The minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd, has announced that �£1.3 million from The Social Action Fund has been awarded to enable the creation of new not-for-profit organisation, We're Altogether Better, formed to tackle social issues digitally. We're Altogether Better is run by the team behind the Charity Times Award winning children’s charity, Beatbullying, which was established in 2002 and has received on-going Government support for its pioneering anti-bullying work.

ACEVO chief expresses pessimism to Cable over executive pay

ACEVO's chief executive Sir Stephen Bubb has written to Vince Cable, secretary of state for Business, Innovation and Skills, expressing his pessimism about the likelihood that company boardrooms will change of their own volition in regards to executive pay and diversify the make-up of their boards. Instead Bubb writes: "In my view, a radical overhaul of corporate governance is needed, including legislation to ensure transparent recruitment processes and proper steps to recruit from diverse backgrounds."

Public benefit study underway

A study into the perceptions of "public benefit" is underway as part of a critical study into one of the key requirements of charity law. The study, on behalf of the Charity Commission, is being carried out by a team from the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR), based in London, and the Centre for Voluntary Sector Research (CVSR) at Sheffield Hallam University.

Nearly one third of charities have not considered their pensions strategy

This year’s pensions research undertaken by ACEVO and employee benefits specialist, Foster Denovo, indicates that nearly one third (31 percent) still need to consider their strategy in relation to the upcoming pension reform. However, this figure does represent a decrease from the 47 percent highlighted in last year’s survey, and the 51 percent from the 2010-11 research.

Health Committee publishes review on public expenditure

The Health Committee review of Public Expenditure in health and social care published its report on public expenditure today, highlighting that service integration to deliver the Nicholson Challenge is more important than management change. Chair of the Health Select Committee Stephen Dorrell MP said: "The Nicholson Challenge is the key issue facing the health and care system. The fact that there is another bill going through Parliament changing the management structure of the NHS means that there is a tendency for every comment about the NHS to be framed by the debate about the bill.

National Audit Office raises questions over Work Programme

The Department for Work and Pensions has introduced the Work Programme quickly, in just over a year, and this has had benefits, but the speed with which it was launched has also increased risks, according to a National Audit Office (NAO) report. Sector organisations welcomed the report. The Department and providers have made assumptions about how many people the Programme will get back into work but there is a significant risk that they are over-optimistic.

£4.5m DWP Social Impact Bond for Merseyside

Triodos Bank and Greater Merseyside Connexions Partnership (GMCP) have won a �£4.5m DWP Innovation Fund payment by results contract to help support young people in Merseyside who may be unemployed or at risk of unemployment. Triodos Bank and GMCP are working together to deliver a three-year programme called “New Horizons” targeted at some of the most vulnerable young people in the Merseyside area.

UK in recession already says think-tank

New forecasts released today by The Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) indicate that the UK economy is already in recession with negative GDP growth in Quarter 4 2011 and Quarter 1 2012. The think-tank has also revised down its forecast for growth for 2012 as a whole from 0.7% growth as predicted last October to a decline of 0.4% with a risk of a more serious decline of 1.1% if developments in the Euro zone are especially negative.

UK economy is ‘back in recession’ says think-tank

A new economic forecast suggests the UK economy has fallen back into recession. The Ernst & Young Item Club said the UK has been left ‘paralysed’ as a result of the European debt crisis and unemployment could hit three million by the end of the year, the think-tank reported. Ernst & Young Item Club has cut its GDP growth rate from 1.5% to 0.2% for this year with the prediction coming days after nine European economies have had their credit ratings downgraded, including France.

NCVO pushes for simpler EU procurement rules

Following months of discussions with the European Commission, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is pushing for the implementation of simpler rules for procurement in this country. Responding today to a Cabinet Office Consultation on the new EU proposals, NCVO pushed for adoption of a range of measures to make the rules simpler for social service delivery. These include: increasing the threshold for exemptions from procurement rules for social service contracts up to 500,000 Euro; this would enable many smaller organisations to access funds with a much lower administrative burden. However, it is important that wider social clauses are not lost from these contracts.

NCVO: charities have a fundamental right to lobby government

In response to the consultation and plans for a new statutory register for lobbyists opened today by Mark Harper, the minister for political and constitutional reform, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has stated that charities have a natural right to campaign. NCVO CEO Sir Stuart Etherington said: “Charities have a fundamental right to campaign and to lobby government and parliament. It is a vital part of our democracy.

Sector consultation opens on proposals for register of lobbyists

Mark Harper, the minister for political and constitutional reform, has launched a twelve week consultation on the Government’s proposals for a register of lobbyists, inviting views from the third sector, public and lobbyist industry on how the register should work. The consultation seeks views on a number of issues, including: the definition of a lobbyist; who should be required to register; what information should be collected about them and the companies on behalf of which they lobby; and how the register should be funded.