Levelling Up and Regeneration Act; Party conferences; Regulator of Social Housing; Cost of Living Payments; Charity Commission

Latest Policy and Governance legislation that could impact and/or may require action from our member charities, with links to further information where applicable:

****STOP PRESS****

Levelling Up and Regeneration Act received Royal Assent on Thursday 26th October – The Almshouse Association will provide a full update shortly.

2023 Party Conferences

Party Conference Update: Desire to build more housing across the political spectrum 

Autumn is party conference season and this year saw an increase in their importance for all the main political parties, as there must be a general election by January 2025 at the latest. 

• The Conservatives in Manchester were less vocal about housebuilding announcements than the other parties. The Conservative Party is concentrating on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, its flagship housing and communities legislation and The Almshouse Association continues to lobby for almshouses to be included within the definition of affordable housing for planning purposes.  The fringe programme at the Conservative party conference showed that housing is increasingly being seen as an issue which must be tackled if their pledge to build 300,000 homes each year is to be achieved.  
• The Labour party conference took place in Liverpool and they were much more vocal about their ambitions for housebuilding, albeit somewhat matching the Government’s target by pledging 300,000 new homes each year. In contrast, however, there were proposals to establish new towns, allow some housebuilding in some parts of the green belt to be designated grey belt, making it easier to build on brownfield land and encourage more council house building.  Labour also had a busy fringe calendar for housing related matters. 
• The LibDem political conference was held in Bournemouth and saw the party’s membership overrule its leadership by refusing to pledge to scrap the national target of building 380,000 new homes per year.  The Young Liberals were at the heart of the debate.  As part of overall housebuilding efforts, the LibDems are pledging to build at least 150,000 new council and social homes a year. 
• The Green party in Brighton pledged to ensure a home that’s “warm, safe and affordable for everyone” was possible, giving the legal right for homes to be properly insulated, damp-proofed and mould-free, and with the cost of renting set in line with local wages. 

Party conference season has demonstrated that whilst there are clear differences between the parties on policy, for once all parties seem to be agreed on the principle of building more houses. 

This could be very important for the almshouse movement if it is matched at the local level by Councils and Councillors across the country, who are usually responsible for planning related matters on a local level.  Our Policy & Engagement Officer, Charles Fifield, a former Borough Councillor, attended the Conservative Party Conference. He spoke to a broad range of Councillors across a variety of fringe events and found general support for the almshouse concept from Councillors, once explained. 

To help spread the word more easily to MPs and Councillors, we have updated the public area of the website to include a specific page for MPs and Councillors, along the main horizontal menu bar, to make it more visible and would encourage members to use this too in correspondence with MPs and Councillors: https://www.almshouses.org/mps-councillors/  

Regulator of Social Housing 

RSH has been running a consultation regarding the level of fees it charges registered providers.  TAA has liaised with the National Housing Federation and are lobbying for a reduced fee basis for providers with less than 250 units, to ease the burden of the proposed doubling of the flat rate for providers with up to 1,000 units. 

The consultation closes on 31 October 2023. 

• www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-fees

Cost of Living Payments dates announced 

Millions of households across the UK will receive £300 directly from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between 31 October and 19 November.

• Millions of households to receive £300 from DWP between 31 October and 19 November 2023 
• This is the second of 3 payments totalling up to £900 supporting eligible people on means-tested benefits with the cost of living 
• Payments make up part of government’s record financial support for the most vulnerable worth an average of £3,300 per household 
• Tax credits-only customers who do not qualify for a payment from DWP will receive £300 from  HMRC  between 10 and 19 November 2023. 

Click here for details

Charity Commission 

The Charity Commission are increasingly tightening up on financial reporting deadlines i.e. Annual Return, Accounts and Trustees Annual Report (TAR) together with up to date information on Trustees,  which some had fallen behind with due to the Covid pandemic.   

We would remind all our members to keep up to date with their statutory filing duties as part of their legal obligations under the Charities Act 2011.  Further information, guidance and useful links can be found here.

posted 26 October 2023

Charity Commission Quiz; Cost of living payment; Net zero; Powers of attorney; Defibrillator funding

Latest Policy and Governance legislation that could impact and/or may require action from our member charities, with links to further information where applicable:

Charity Commission updates

• Charity Commission launches new quiz for trustees to test their knowledge – The Charity Commission’s next phase of its Trustee Campaign gets underway.  Support for Charity Trustees, including 5-minute guides on issues like safeguarding, managing finances and conflicts of interest, together with a Trustee Quiz: 

• Whistleblowing disclosures made to the Charity Commission for England and Wales 2022 to 2023:
  Key findings from 2022 to 2023 disclosures:
  • there has been a 16% increase in the number of disclosures compared to the previous reporting period
  • the majority of disclosures are from employees and ex-employees
    the primary issues raised were governance, safeguarding or financial management concerns which is consistent with the 2021-2022 reporting period
    
    The highest number of disclosures in recent years occurred in 2020-2021 and the Charity Commission believe this was driven by the uncertainties and financial challenges associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/whistleblowing-disclosures-made-to-the-charity-commission-for-england-and-wales-2022-to-2023/whistleblowing-disclosures-made-to-the-charity-commission-for-england-and-wales-2022-to-2023

Second 2023 to 2024 Cost of Living Payment dates announced

Millions of households across the UK will receive £300 directly from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between 31 October and 19 November.

• This is the second of 3 payments totalling up to £900 supporting eligible people on means-tested benefits with the cost of living
• Payments make up part of the Government’s record financial support for the most vulnerable worth an average of £3,300 per household
• Tax credits-only customers who do not qualify for a payment from DWP will receive £300 from HMRC between 10 and 19 November 2023

Click here for link to full details

Net Zero by 2050

PM recommits UK to Net Zero by 2050 and pledges a “fairer” path to achieving target to ease the financial burden on British families

UK’s over-delivery on reducing emissions provides space to take a more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach to reaching net zero. The changes are as follows:

• Delay the ban on installing oil and LPG boilers, and new coal heating, for off-gas-grid homes to 2035, instead of phasing them out from 2026. Many of these homes are not suitable for heat pumps, so this ensures homeowners are not having to spend around £10-15,000 on upgrading their homes in just three years’ time.
• Set an exemption to the phase out of fossil fuel boilers, including gas, in 2035, so that households who will most struggle to make the switch to heat pumps or other low-carbon alternatives won’t have to do so. This is expected to cover about a fifth of homes, including off-gas-grid homes – those that will need expensive retrofitting or a very large electricity connection.
• Scrap policies to force landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties, but instead continue to encourage households to do so where they can.
• Raise the Boiler Upgrade Grant by 50% to £7,500 to help households who want to replace their gas boilers with a low-carbon alternative like a heat pump.

Click here for full details

Step forward to online Lasting Power of Attorney

The most vulnerable in society will be better protected as reforms to simplify and streamline lasting powers of attorney are given Royal Assent.

• Power of Attorney Act receives Royal Assent
• creates new safeguards to protect against fraud and abuse
• digitalisation to improve processing time and reduce human error

These legal agreements enable a person to grant decision making powers about their care, treatment or financial affairs to another person if they lose mental capacity.

The Powers of Attorney Act fires the starting gun on bringing the existing paper-based process online for the first time. The changes, when introduced, will make the system quicker, easier to access and more secure for the thousands of people who make and rely on a lasting power of attorney every year.

The legislation, which was introduced by Stephen Metcalfe MP and supported by the government, will also strengthen existing fraud protection by allowing checks on the identity of those applying for a lasting power of attorney.

The new online system and the additional safeguards are now being developed by the Office of the Public Guardian. 

Click here for full details

Defibrillator funding for community spaces across England

The Department of Health and Social Care is inviting interested organisations to register expressions of interest for its £1 million Community Automated External Defibrillators Fund, aimed at increasing the number of AEDs in public places where they are most needed and to help save lives.  

The Defibrillators will be provided in an external lockable cabinet and confirmation of match funding (c.£750) will be required. 100 defibrillators will be selected to be fully funded, selected from the applications in areas that most need a defibrillator.

Charities can apply, eligibility conditions include the defibrillator cabinet must be located outside in an area that is accessible to members of the public 24 hours a day, provide match funding (c.£750), be able to provide an external power source to ensure the defibrillator cabinet light and heater operate to keep the device at the right temperature.

Click here for full details

posted 25 September 2023, updated 27 September 2023

The Housing Information Hub will support homebuilding, placemaking and regeneration by providing the sector with a new, national index of professional housing resources.

Press Release: 20 Sept 23: Homes England has announced a new national index of professional housing resources, The Housing Information Hub, now available on GOV.UK, will support the sector by providing direct access to over 300 sources of guidance, information and tools relating to homebuilding, placemaking and regeneration.

Developed by Homes England’s Local Government Capacity Centre, the Housing Information Hub is one of a series of new initiatives designed in collaboration with local authorities and other partners to respond the needs, and asks, of the sector.  With the aim to cover the full housing and delivery journey, resources are split into five key areas – financing, leading, building, using land and planning.

• Financing homebuilding and regeneration – information on economic appraisals, financial viability, cost estimation, funding, delivery mechanisms, the Delivery Partner Dynamic Purchasing System and procurement
• Leading homebuilding and regeneration – information on community engagement, governance, programme and project management, and resources and risk management
• Building healthy places – information on design, infrastructure, construction management, Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and self and custom-build
• Using land for homebuilding and regeneration – information on identifying land, land acquisition, brownfield land, land disposal, due diligence, feasibility and partnership working
• Planning for homebuilding and regeneration – information on masterplanning, local planning, planning conditions, environment and sustainability, garden towns and villages, estate regeneration and housing tenures

posted 25 September 2023

Charity Commission Press Release: Regulator publishes new guidance on charities’ social media use.

From: The Charity Commission Published 18 September 2023

The Charity Commission has issued new guidance on charities’ use of social media. Published 18th September 2023, the guidance makes clear that social media can be a highly effective way for a charity to engage its audiences and communicate about its work but that there are risks involved, which trustees should plan for.

The new guidance is clear that charities using social media should have a social media policy in place and should ensure the policy is followed. This is standard practice in many charities and across other sectors and industries, and can help an organisation avoid problems and address issues swiftly if they occur.

The regulator says its casework has revealed a knowledge gap. Trustees are not always aware of the risks that may arise from using social media, meaning that some do not have sufficient oversight of their charity’s activity, leaving them and their charity vulnerable. The guidance aims to help trustees understand these risks, how their legal duties apply, and what to consider if issues arise.

The guidance:

• makes clear that the regulator does not expect that every charity will involve trustees in the day-to-day running of the charity’s social media but that trustees must understand their legal responsibilities even if delegating tasks
• sets out the expectation that charities using social media should have a policy in place to explain how using social media will help deliver the charity’s purpose and should include the charity’s own guidelines, such as those on the conduct of trustees, employees and volunteers using social media on the charity’s behalf
• contains an easy-to-use checklist to help trustees and senior employees have informed conversations on what the right policy for them looks like
• says charities should have guidelines to manage the risk that content posted by individuals connected to the charity in their personal capacity, particularly those who are high profile like CEOs, may negatively impact the charity by association. It also makes clear that trustees, employees and others have the right to exercise their freedom of expression within the law
• signposts organisations and resources that can help trustees if they want to improve their social media skills.

The new guidance was subject to a formal consultation, which ran from January to March 2023. The Commission received 396 responses. Many welcomed the guidance, but some felt it could be clearer to explain what is and is not expected of trustees. The regulator has made a number of changes to clarify the Commission’s regulatory expectations in light of the feedback. The final guidance also further emphasises the benefits of using social media, so that charities can have confidence in their ability to make use of them.

Paul Latham, Director of Communications and Policy at the Charity Commission, said:

“There are many benefits to using social media, which can be an effective tool for campaigning, communicating with the public and reaching new and existing supporters. However, trustees need to be alive to the risks it can generate, including to a charity’s reputation. We have published this guidance because we want trustees to think carefully about what they want to achieve when using social media and then apply our guidance to help ensure their charity is protected.

We know trustees are busy and don’t expect them to be social media experts. Our guidance is also clear that their oversight need only be proportionate. However, it is the duty of trustees to act responsibly, in their charity’s best interests, and in line with the law. This includes when posting online. Our guidance will help charities to navigate their use of social media with greater confidence and will support the Commission to regulate this high profile and fast paced area in a fair and balanced way.“

• The guidance can be read in full on the Charity Commission’s gov.uk page,
• alongside their consultation response.

The Almshouse Association has put together a response to the Government’s consumer standards consultation on which we would welcome members’ feedback.

• Please click here to download our draft response.
• Please ensure your comments are returned to nickphillips@almshouses.org by 29 September 2023.

_{posted 18 September 2023}