The Government has now published details on the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which will help those on non-domestic (business) tariffs this winter. This will include charities who provide energy to their residents.

The support will initially be available from 1^st October 2022 until 31^st March 2023, with further support expected after this for the most vulnerable sectors.

The scheme will be available to everyone on a non-domestic contract including:
– businesses
– voluntary sector organisations, such as charities
– public sector organisations such as schools, hospitals and care homes

who are:
– on existing fixed price contracts that were agreed on or after 1 April 2022
– signing new fixed price contracts
– on deemed / out of contract or variable tariffs
– on flexible purchase or similar contracts

The support comes from a cap being placed on the unit price on your electricity and gas, this cap has been set at:
– £211 per megawatt hour (MWh) for electricity
– £75 per MWh for gas

For comparison, this compares to £600 for electricity and £180 for gas which had been expected this winter.

The support will be applied to all bills by suppliers and you will not need to apply for it to take effect.

• If you agreed your fixed price contract / tariff on or after 1 April 2022 you will get support if the calculated wholesale element of the price you are paying is above the government supported price.
• If your fixed tariff is based on wholesale prices below the government supported price, you will not be eligible for support.
• For members who use heat networks or provide energy to their residents the Government advises:

“We expect businesses and other organisation to pass on the benefits under this scheme through to the end user in a reasonable and proportionate way. This will ensure support, for instance, to customers of heat networks and park home residents.”

A more detailed breakdown of the support can be found on the Government announcement here.

The Almshouse Association will continue to discuss the needs of the almshouse movement to be included in any future support beyond 31^st March 2023 and would greatly appreciate evidence/case studies from member charities regarding the impact of the high energy costs and how the support provided through this scheme is ensuring services continue.

If you have any further questions, please get in touch with Jack Baldan via jackbaldan@almshouses.org

Posted 22 September 22

The Almshouse Association has received the following communication from the BBC representative for TV licensing

Good afternoon,

We offer our deepest condolences to the Royal Family following the death of Her Majesty The Queen. Her Majesty was the embodiment of public service.

We know that many communities may wish to come together and observe the funeral of Her Majesty The Queen and so the BBC is providing local communities a TV Licence dispensation. The dispensation will allow any communal setting where TV is not usually watched, such as town halls, community centres and libraries across the UK, to screen the live programmes without needing to purchase a licence. 

We want to reach out to communities and those who are making arrangements to let them know that the dispensation is in place and therefore we welcome your support in making your service users aware.

By law, if live television or BBC iPlayer is viewed on any premises, those premises must be covered by a valid TV Licence. However, in exceptional circumstances, the BBC can grant a dispensation for the temporary viewing of television, so long as the viewing is for the sole purpose of screening an event which is judged by the BBC to be of national importance.

As the BBC Board has said, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a unifying figure across generations, communities and borders, who represented the very best of our nation. We are grateful at the BBC to have witnessed, recorded and shared so many of the special moments in her long life and reign. She will always be remembered with the greatest affection and admiration.

If you need any further information to help you to support your clients, if you have any queries or if you would like to know more please contact me.

Dan Cooper
Senior Communications Specialist | TV Licensing
daniel.cooper@bbc.co.uk

Posted 12 September 22

The Almshouse Association regularly posts a news summary of the latest Policy and Governance legislation that could impact / requires action from our member charities, with links to further information where applicable. Please find below our latest summary:

Government

THE ALMSHOUSE ASSOCIATION SECURES ACCESS FOR ALL ALMSHOUSES CHARITIES TO £800M DECARBONISATION FUND

Following extensive discussions, The Almshouse Association is pleased to announce that the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) will now be open to all almshouse charities.

The fund is due to re-open this Autumn with £800m in funding to help raise as many properties as possible to EPC Band C. In total, the fund will provide £3.8 billion over a ten-year period. Previously, the fund was restricted to Registered Providers of Social Housing, but after continued engagement with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Association was able to achieve changes to the next round of funding to allow registered charities that own social housing to bid directly into the fund. This marks the most significant funding currently available for retrofit projects that is available to almshouse charities.

To bid for funding the project must meet the funds eligibility criteria which includes:

• A minimum of 100 eligible properties at EPC band D-G (Note: If you have less than 100 dwellings you will need to join a consortium with other charities, your local authority, or a housing association)
• Properties must reach EPC band C or D where this is not possible on band F/G properties
• Bidders must be able to co-fund 50% of total eligible costs
  
  The Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator is backed by Government and has been established to help guide applicants through the bidding process. If you are interested in bidding, the Accelerator will be able to offer the best advice on how to create a successful bid. More details can be found here.
  
  The fund is next due to open this Autumn 2022, although, the announcement may have come too late for many members to create a suitable bid. There will, however, be further opportunity to bid as the fund is due to reopen subsequently. Full guidance on the fund can be found here. 

• Consultation opens on proposed changes to Statistical Data Return (SDR) – Members who are Registered Providers of Social Housing will be aware of the requirement to submit data as part of the Statistical Data Return through the NROSH+ system.
  From 2023, the Regulator of Social Housing is proposing to amend the questions asked as part of the return and is seeking feedback from Registered Providers on these changes.
  The consultation is open until 9^th September. Full details can be found here.

• Government starts naming and shaming failing landlords – The government has started publishing the name of all the landlords who have received severe maladministration findings from the Housing Ombudsman Service. The full list can be found here.
  This serves as a good reminder for members who are also part of the Housing Ombudsman to review their practices to ensure they are in line with the requirements of the Ombudsman.
  If you have any concerns, please contact The Almshouse Association for support.  

The Charity Commission

• Changes to Charity Commission Communication – The Charity Commission is looking to be more proactive with its engagement with trustees in the future. To make this a reality, they will be asking all charity contacts to set up new, individual Charity Commission accounts to access services such as filing an annual return or changing a governing document. They will also be asking charities to update information on what they do, who they help and where they work.
  
  More information can be found in the Commission’s newsletter here.

• Commission clarifies bullying and harassment roles and responsibilities – The Charity Commission has clarified respective responsibilities in preventing and responding to incidents of bullying and harassment in charities.
  
  In its clarification it has outlined the role of trustees and when the Commission will intervene in matters arising. Full details can be found here.

Miscellaneous

• Funding available for tree planting – The Tree Council has opened its Branching Out Fund for applications. Grants of £200 – £2000 are on offer for projects to plant trees, hedges and orchards with a strong community involvement, ideally involving children and/or young people.
  
  Full details can be found here.   

RECORD OF PREVIOUS 2021/22 Policy and Governance updates:

Posted 22 August 22

The Almshouse Association regularly posts a news summary of the latest Policy and Governance legislation that could impact / requires action from our member charities, with links to further information where applicable. Please find below our latest summary:

Government

• Government updates advice on £400 energy rebate – The Government has announced further information on the £400 energy rebate which is being provided to households to help with the cost of living crisis. Previously there had been concerns that the scheme would not support those who operated heat networks where a charity charges for energy through their WMC. However, the Government has now clarified that the payment will be made to those with:
  
  “Domestic electricity contracts from landlords where fixed energy costs are included in their rental charges. In these circumstances, landlords who resell energy to their tenants should pass the discounted payments on appropriately, in line with Ofgem rules to protect tenants.”
  
  Furthermore, they have confirmed that:
  
  “Further funding will be available to provide equivalent support of £400 for energy bills for the 1% of households who will not be reached through the EBSS [Energy Bill Support Scheme]. This includes those who do not have a domestic electricity meter or a direct relationship with an energy supplier, such as park home residents.”
  
  We are glad that the government has taken note of the pressure from The Almshouse Association and others on this issue. However, we are still disappointed that further information on how the scheme will be delivered has still not been provided. Those with standard electric tariffs will see a £66 discount applied to their energy bill in October and November, rising to £67 from December to March 2023. Further information can be found here.

• New guidance for landlords on smoke and carbon monoxide alarm regulations – We recently published a piece on the new regulations for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms from October 1^st 2022. The Government has since published a guidance booklet for landlords which can be found here.

• Housing Ombudsman opens landlord survey – Housing Ombudsman members may wish to answer their current landlord survey which looks to see how landlords are using the complaints handling code, among other topics. The survey can be found here and closes on 26 August 2022

The Charity Commission

• Commissions publishes guidance on upcoming changes to the Charities Act – The Charity Commission has published new guidance on the forthcoming changes to the Charity Act in Autumn 2022.
  
  This includes:
  • Paying trustees for providing goods to the charity
  • Making moral or ‘ex gratia’ payments from charity funds
  • Fundraising appeals that do not reach, or exceed, your target
  • Power to amend Royal Charters.
    
    Full details can be found here

RECORD OF PREVIOUS 2021/22 Policy and Governance updates:

Posted 8 August 22