charity law news August 2010
Blake Lapthorn solicitors' Charities group publishes regular
e-bulletins to keep you up-to-date with breaking news and topical
issues affecting the charities sector. Please click on the links
below to view August's articles.
Charity Commission research indicates that the public is becoming increasingly interested in how charities' finances are managed and how effective charities are.
Figures from HM Revenue and Customs show that charitable donations from the public have increased by more than 60% over the past five years.
The Charity Commission's new public benefit rules could lead to increased public school fees, as independent schools struggle to afford to meet the Commission's requirements.
The Charity Commission has been working with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) to help charities and the general public to avoid the kind of fraud that can affect the charitable sector.
A consultation is currently open on the subject of the Poverty Impact Fund, the £40 million government fund that will offer grants to charitable organisations that help to fight against poverty.
In a recent speech to Acevo members, the health secretary Andrew Lansley has said that voluntary organisations will have a key role to play in the Government's plans for changes to the NHS.
Hampshire County Council has cut the grant funding available to voluntary organisations from its children's services department by £330,000.
A National Citizen Service scheme through which teenagers will undertake summer volunteering placements has been outlined by David Cameron as part of a series of projects that are due to start next year.
Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has outlined proposals that could see the current system of unemployment benefits scrapped.
The number of Employment Tribunal (ET) claims has risen by 56% in the last year, according to official statistics recently published by the Tribunals Service. We ask why and what lessons can be learned for those within the charities sector.
The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed that it retains its intention to abolish money purchase contracting-out with effect from 6 April 2012, and that it is adhering to the timetable proposed by the previous Government.
