Civil society

We have responded to today’s decision by the Upper Tribunal on the issue of charities, public benefit and fee charging.

The case, which went before the Upper Tribunal in May, draws on two sets of proceedings exploring what educational charities charging high fees must do in order to meet the public benefit requirement. NCVO has a long-standing interest in charity law and acted as an intervener in the case.

Read more.

New research finds that the children and young people’s voluntary sector is amongst the hardest hit by government funding cuts and local authority austerity measures.

‘The Ripple Effect’ (PDF 2.3MB), a new book by the National Children’s Bureau with input from NCVO, paints a picture of the children’s voluntary sector as heavily reliant on government funding and less likely to receive funding from the private sector.

Read more.

Employment in the voluntary sector has fallen by 5% over the past 12 months according to the latest Labour Force Survey.

The figures for the second quarter of 2011 show that the voluntary sector employs 768,000 people, a fall of around 38,000 employees since the second quarter of 2010. The voluntary sector workforce has now experienced two consecutive quarters of decline following the 'flatline' witnessed towards the end of 2010.

The NHS is going through a radical change with new structures and new organisations for health and social care commissioning set to come into play in 2013.

NAVCA, NCVO and Regional Voices have produced a joint briefing Influencing the New Health System in a Local Area (PDF 387KB) to help local voluntary and community organisations navigate their way through upcoming changes now. 

Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society has opened a new £10million Innovation in Giving Fund today. The Fund focuses on supporting innovative new ideas and new technologies to increase levels of social action in the areas of giving and volunteering.

Nick Hurd Minister for Civil Society, said:

'The Innovation in Giving Fund is a new approach. We want to root out the visionary ideas that too often never get the backing they need. We’re very open-minded about this, but ideas must have real potential to increase the giving of time or money.'

We are announcing today plans to merge with the Third Sector European Network (TSEN).

The merger, which takes place on 1 September 2011, will integrate TSEN’s work with our own EU and International Programme. TSEN provides information, support and training to help voluntary organisations access the European Social Fund and is a major source of expertise on European Union funding.

Under the proposals, TSEN’s two staff members will transfer across to NCVO, expanding the existing EU and International unit to enable a broader range of advice and support on European issues. 

Does your organisation work with older or disabled people in London?  Here’s a unique (and free!) opportunity to take part in our new project to explore how climate change will affect life in London, and what this will mean for your beneficiaries and the work you do.

We’re looking for up to 32 organisations to take part in the project from this autumn to July 2012.

The Government needs to work in partnership with the voluntary sector to address the risk of charity fraud, according to a new report produced by NCVO’s Task and Finish Group which is launching today.

Managing Risk: A New Approach for the Fit and Proper Regulation of Charities stresses the need for meaningful consultation with voluntary organisations on any fraud prevention measures before they are introduced. It also calls on the Charity Commission and HM Revenue and Customs to improve their information sharing systems, to simplify processes and avoid unnecessary duplication.

The Government has published its long-awaited White Paper on Giving (PDF 2.32 MB).

The White Paper announces a range of measures designed to encourage the giving of both time and money and includes:

• a Social Action Fund and Challenge Prizes around volunteering
• a Giving Summit in late autumn 2011
• £30m for a Local Infrastructure Fund in order to encourage more effective support for frontline civil society organisations
• a year-long national payroll giving campaign.

A hearing opened on Tuesday 17 May to consider what charities charging high fees must do in order to meet the public benefit requirement.

The Independent Schools Council has applied for a judicial review of both the lawfulness of the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance and the way it has applied that guidance when carrying out its public benefit assessments. In parallel, the Attorney General has also asked the hearing to consider a series of questions about how the public benefit requirement applies in the context of fee-charging independent schools.