[Nick Stiven]

‘conSERvation team’, obviously. Wretched, sneaky, auto-correct … !

🤣

[Nick Stiven]

Christina

The ‘model’ answer is, ‘Yes, you should get an opinion from your local authority conversation team’.

On the other hand, if your modifications can easily be 100% reversed, you shoukd be fine. For example, you screw your grab handles into a wooden doorframe – and could simply unscrew the handles afterwards, plug the screw holes and repaint the doorframe – then no harm is done.

Similarly, handles fastened to the mortar between stone blocks or brickwork should be acceptable. You can even be creative by fastening wood panels/planks to stonework or brickwork via screws/bolts in the mortar lines – and then fasten the grab handles to the panel/plank (thereby always protecting the building structure from irreversible damage).

But if you are in any doubt, consult your local authority.

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Nick Stiven]

Helen

Google says ‘a fire alarm zone chart is a mandatory requirement under BS 5839-1:2025 for virtually all commercial premises. If you received this quote, it is likely that the engineer identified that your existing zone plan was either missing, inaccurate, or outdated, which constitutes a major non-compliance during a fire safety service.’

BS 5839-1:2025 applies to the communal areas of almshouses (such as corridors, shared hallways, main entrances, utility rooms, lounges, and staff accommodation) because it is designed for non-domestic premises, including sheltered housing and multi-occupancy residential buildings’.

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Nick Stiven]

Annett

It is generally not necessary to provide fire extinguishers etc inside self-contained flats, and many fire safety experts advise against it, preferring a “get out, stay out” policy (which, it seems, is your position). While fire blankets in kitchens are often considered good practice, extinguishers can encourage untrained residents to fight fires rather than evacuate.

Legislation:
The primary legislation is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Assessment:
Your obligation is to have a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) conducted by a competent person to determine what is necessary, based on the specific risks of your buildings.

In short, one size does not fit all, and what you do depends on the site-specific advice contained in your FRA.

Communal Areas:
Fire extinguishers are generally not required in common areas of small blocks of flats. If extinguishers are not required by your FRA, you can remove them. For most residential, self-contained, and purpose-built flats, the focus is on passive fire safety (fire doors, fire-resistant walls) and early warning (smoke alarms) rather than extinguishing equipment.

For all these reasons, while we have 19 units (a mixture of flats and cottages) we have followed our FRA, and have no extinguishers on site and have not replaced any ‘time-expired’ fire blankets (it seems our residents tend to micro-wave or bake, rather than fry food these days).

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Nick Stiven]

Sue

In a simple domestic setting like your 8 bungalows, you really don’t need to pay a firm to check their water supplies. The necessary checks are incredibly easy to carry out – by., say, the Clerk,in as little as a morning.

Can I suggest you Google ‘do I need to get a company to carry out a full legionella assessment of a domestic water supply?’ Ask for an AI response.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the answer you get!

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Nick Stiven]

Virginia

Try a look at:

https://www.lsh.co.uk/explore/research-and-views/view-points/2026/april/the-national-housing-bank-a-step-change-for-housing-delivery-and-regeneration-in-england?

It appears that The Housing Bank is not a retail bank (like, say, CAF Bank or Lloyds) but a public finance vehicle designed to increase housing supply across England by providing large-scale funding to:

• Housebuilders
• Housing associations / registered providers
• Local authorities
• Regeneration projects
• Institutional investors in housing

Its purpose is to ‘tackle market failures where viable housing projects stall because of lack of affordable finance, infrastructure costs, or iinvestment risk’.

Caution: You will need a PhD in ‘government finance-speak’ to understand the article! 😀

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Nick Stiven]

Sally

In most cases, yes — your charity will still have to pay VAT (usually 20%) on roof re-felting or roof repair works, even though you are a registered charity. Charity status alone does not create a blanket VAT exemption for building maintenance or repairs.

HMRC’s default position is that work to existing buildings is standard-rated unless a specific relief applies.

You may qualify for reduced or zero VAT only if:

• The building is being substantially altered, not merely repaired.

• It has been empty for 2+ years (certain residential reliefs may apply).

• It is part of an approved conversion.

• It is a listed place of worship, or if

• Specific grant schemes or heritage funding are available.

It’s also always worth looking at our Association’s website for your answer. This link may be useful:

VAT – Opportunities for Almshouse Charities

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Nick Stiven]

Judith

No, not automatically—and usually not at all unless your governing document allows it.

‘Vicar for the time being’ ties the trusteeship to a specific office, not a person. When there is no vicar (interregnum/vacancy), the office still exists—but there is simply no one to occupy that trustee seat.

So the trusteeship normally just falls vacant temporarily.

You can only appoint someone else instead if your governing document gives you a route to do so. There are three possibilities:

(A) Governing document is strict (most common). If it simply says ‘the Vicar for the time being’ with no flexibility:

• You cannot substitute another church officer (warden, lay member, retired priest, etc.).
• The position remains vacant during the interregnum.

Trying to “fill” it informally would be ultra vires (outside your powers).

(B) There is a clause allowing substitution or co-option. Some schemes include wording like:

• trustees may co-opt additional trustees, or
• a named body (e.g. PCC, bishop, patron) may appoint a replacement.

If so, you could:

• co-opt a temporary trustee, or
• ask the relevant body to nominate someone during the vacancy.

But this is not the same as replacing the ex officio role—it’s just filling the gap pragmatically.

(C) You amend the governing document (a longer-term fix). If this is likely to recur (and it will), the clean solution is:

• amend the scheme via the Charity Commission (which sounds ‘scary’ but is actually pretty easy).
• update wording to something like:

“the Vicar or during a vacancy such other person as the PCC shall nominate”

That avoids paralysis during future vacancies.

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Nick Stiven]

Suzanne

‘Of limited means’ is a deliberately flexible phrase. At its core, it simply means someone does not have much money or financial resources—but it’s not a precise legal or financial threshold unless a specific policy defines it.

In plain terms, it usually implies a person:

* Has low income and/or minimal savings,
* Can meet basic needs, but only just, and
* Has little financial resilience (e.g. unexpected costs would be difficult).

Why is it vague?

The phrase is often used in:

* Charity governing documents.
* Grant criteria.
* Almshouse eligibility.

… but without a fixed definition, because trustees or decision-makers are expected to apply judgement based on circumstances.

In an almshouse context (important for you), ‘of limited means’ typically involves looking at:

* Income (pensions, benefits, earnings),
* Savings and capital,
* Outgoings (especially rent, care, health costs), and
* Overall ability to live independently without hardship.

It’s relative, not absolute:

Someone might not qualify for state benefits, yet still be ‘of limited means’. Equally, someone with modest income but substantial savings might not qualify.

The key point (and where trustees often go wrong) – don’t treat it as a fixed income cutoff. If you do, you risk being too rigid (excluding genuinely needy people). Or inconsistent (if decisions aren’t documented).

As you have already implied, someone ‘of limited means’ in Surrey might actually be pretty well off in County Durham!

A good approach is to:

* Define your charity’s interpretation (even informally).
* Apply it consistently.
* Record the reasoning behind your decisions.

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Nick Stiven]

Debbie

Providing accommodation to staff is normally a taxable benefit (BIK). The accommodation is not taxed if it qualifies as job-related accommodation, meaning:

The employee needs to live there to do the job, or
It’s standard for the role and improves performance.

In your scenario (Assistant Warden + “optional” house), if the accommodation is:

● Optional, or

● A recruitment perk

It will almost certainly be taxable.

You will have be clear about your position:

● If living on-site is genuinely required, make it contractual and the accommodation would likely be tax-free.

● If provision of the accommodation is just you trying to be helpful or make the job attractive, you must treat it as a taxable benefit.

We provide the services of a single Warden and, after 38 years experience (in our case), we are convinced that those services are only successfully provided if our Warden lives in.

We believe, therefore, that the Warden’s accommodation is essential to the effective functioning of the post-holder, and we thus insist that living in the provided accommodation is a requirement of the post.

Our Warden’s accommodation is therefore tax-free.

Our Warden does have some taxable BIK however:

● Fuel and Light (to the value of whichever is the lesser: 10% of the Warden’s gross salary OR the flat’s total gas and electricity costs).

● TV Licence.

● Provision of a private home telephone.

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Nick Stiven]

Sally

You can, but only if you are explicitly authorised, so you have 2 options:

Option A (cleanest):
Get a trustee (e.g. the Chair) to sign (!)

Option B (still fine):
Ensure you have minutes that say:

• The accountants have been appointed.
• The Clerk is authorised to sign the engagement letter.

Then sign as:
“[Your Name], Clerk to the Trustees, for and on behalf of the Trustees of [Charity Name].

Thereafter, you could set up delegated authority:

You would need a written scheme of delegation or standing orders saying the Clerk can:

• Enter into routine contracts (e.g. professional services) for the trust, and
• Sign documents up to a certain value/of a specific type.

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Nick Stiven]

William

Why not help each of your non-internet-banking residents, every year in December, to draft and then send out a simple 4 paragraph letter to their bank to set up, amend or cancel their standing order, ready for January?

I have used this system for some 30 years now. It still works well enough. It’s easy to set up, using a simple mail-merged letter. And it’s a lot cheaper than DDs.

I have found it wise to give the postal system and the bank plenty of time to process the letter in their respective ways.

To this end, to save everybody the cost of stamps and ensure all the SO letters get actioned in good time, I offer to personally walk all the SO letters to the relevant bank branches in my local town. This is because, for example, all letters to any far-flung Barclays branch in the country will get actioned by any local Barclays branch, through the bank’s own systems).

This:

(a) gives me some exercise (!),

(b) ensures the SO letters are clearly and correctly drafted and get to the right place in good time, and

(c) helps out my dozen or so ‘internet-challenged’ (and, truth be told, ‘admin-challenged’) residents.

It’s actually very little trouble and, after all, only happens once a year.

Of course, it doesn’t work with Internet-only banks, but the residents who choose such banks do so because they are already internet-banking-savvy

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Nick Stiven]

Jennifer

We asked ourselves the same question. However, if, like us, you:

• Own a small number of properties already properly vested in trustees (or the Official Custodian),

• Have no borrowing or development plans,

• Have stable governance, and

• Don’t employ staff (or only minimal clerk support),

then a CIO is probably a solution in search of a problem!

I’d be surprised if your insurance doesn’t already (or could if asked to) offer trustee indemnity insurance.

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Nick Stiven]

Jacqui

First port of call might be the Almshouse Association website itself:

https://www.almshouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Buzzacott-buz2092_-_09_retention_of_accounting_records_-_final-aw1.pdf

Then, have a look at:

https://www.restore.co.uk/informationmanagement/resource-hub/insights/gdpr-what-are-the-statutory-retention-periods-for-hr/

Finally, I find that, for a speedy, succinct answer, I turn more and more to either ChatGPT or Google AI.

Simply copy and paste your original question into one or other of these two (free) programs. Hit ‘enter’ (or, in ChatGPT, the vertical blue arrow) – you will be amazed at how useful an answer you will get back.

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.ukj

[Nick Stiven]

Sally

It looks like you have done all the right things so far. In particular you are aware that you have responsibility for some ‘neutralised’ asbestos that now needs managing. I don’t think you need any more specialist education/courses. You simply need to take appropriate action and this is what you should be doing:

Floor Tile Management

• Active management is needed, not just recording

• Regular Condition Monitoring
Inspect tiles annually or more often if there is a risk of disturbance
Look for cracking, lifting, and wear of the tiles in high-traffic areas
Remember that changes in condition affect the risk level

• Implement “Permit Before Work” Controls.
Contractors and volunteers must check your management plan, with its asbestos register, before any work near your hidden asbestos-laden tiles and all and must be informed of asbestos locations.
Contractors to sign to confirm they’ve seen asbestos info.
No drilling, sanding, or lifting tiles without proper controls.

• Keep the Register Alive.
Update the asbestos management plan if changes occur.
Review the register and the management plan at least annually.
Ensure the plan is a current and actively used document.

It’s all fairly obvious, when you think about it!

Hope this helps.

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

• This reply was modified 2 months ago by clerk.stjohnswilton.

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