The Department of Health and Social Care has responded to our MPs questions. (see news item here ).

Their response does not answer the main question of where almshouses fit in the priority list and many are in need of equipment now – so we will be requesting a specific answer to our question. This is not a time for certification and regulation to stand in the way of protecting vulnerable people when they need it.

From: Department of Health and Social Care
Sent: 14 May 2020
To: Nick Phillips
Subject: Your correspondence about personal protective equipment

Thank you for your correspondence about personal protective equipment (PPE).

There is unprecedented global demand for personal protective equipment as a result of this pandemic. Ministers have been upfront about the challenges faced due to the huge international demand for PPE, but are committed and determined to support the health and social care sectors.

The Government has been working around the clock with industry and the British Army to provide the NHS and the social care sector with the equipment and support they need to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak. A new national supply and logistics network has been created from scratch in a matter of weeks to manage supply and demand across the UK, and to make sure appropriate PPE reaches those who need it.

All care homes, hospices and home care providers are receiving PPE deliveries. It is our priority to ensure frontline staff feel as protected and as safe as possible. Millions of items of PPE have been delivered for those working in care homes and for home care providers.

Organisations that have an urgent clinical need for PPE but cannot get it through the usual channels can call the National Supply Disruption Response team, which can advise on alternative suppliers or facilitate an emergency delivery, on 0800 915 9964 or by email at supplydisruptionservice@nhsbsa.nhs.uk.

A new dedicated team has been set up to focus on securing supplies and identifying PPE suppliers from across the globe to meet the increasing demand for a growing list of products, with a ‘call to arms’ to businesses to turn their manufacturing efforts to this response to meet technical specifications published by the Government. Lord Deighton has been appointed to lead the national effort to boost PPE production.

The Government has received over 12,800 offers of support from suppliers and are working rapidly to assess these, ensuring they meet the safety and quality standards that our NHS and social care staff need, and to prioritise larger volumes. All suppliers making contact through the official portal will receive an immediate response acknowledging their offer. Ministers continue to urge any companies that feel they have not had a response to continue to come forward.

Some of these organisations, including Kingfisher Group, Apple, Huawei and BP, have also generously offered their own PPE for use by the NHS and public organisations, and we are working with wholesalers to ensure a longer-term supply of all aspects of PPE for the health and care sectors, including gloves, aprons, face masks and hand sanitisers.

The Government has also announced that VAT on essential PPE for COVID-19 will be temporarily scrapped, saving more than £100million for care homes and businesses dealing with the outbreak.

The full weight of the Government is behind this effort. Industry, social care providers, the NHS, and the army are working together to ensure the right equipment continues to be delivered.

I hope this reply is helpful.

Yours sincerely
Daniel Belmore 
Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries
Department of Health and Social Care

Posted 18th May 2020

Shadow Armed Forces Minister and MP for Portsmouth South, Stephen Morgan, has submitted three parliamentary written questions that will go The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock:

• ‘What assessment has he made of the potential merits of giving almshouses priority access to PPE alongside NHS services and care homes on the wellbeing of vulnerable people amid Covid-19 ?’
• ‘What assessment has he made of recent trends in Covid-19 testing in almshouses on the wellbeing of vulnerable community members?’
• ‘What assessment has he made of the continuation of almshouses post Covid-19 on the ability of local authorities to house vulnerable people?’

These written questions are an official part of Parliamentary business meaning that the questions and their answers will be kept on record and appear in Hansard. Whilst there is no official deadline for a response, it is convention that it should take no longer than a week.

Mr Morgan also expressed to us his recognition of the valuable contribution that almshouse charities make to society.

The Almshouse Association thanks Mr Morgan for his support of the almshouse movement and for ensuring that almshouse charities are supported by the Government.

Posted 13 May 2020

Housing – April 2020 Summary

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published guidance for landlords, tenants and local authorities on the private and social rented sectors in the context of Covid-19.

This includes guidance around changes to the repossession of property during the Covid-19 Pandemic. While the majority of legal changes do not impact almshouses, it is worth noting that licensees that are protected by the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 will not be able to be set aside ‘non-essentially’.

Further information and guidance can be found here.

Property and Planning – April 2020 Summary

Necessary building safety improvements can continue.

MHCLG, mayors and local leaders have pledged to ensure vital building safety improvements can continue during the coronavirus pandemic. It is clear that the safety of buildings remains a top priority and measures have been put in place to ensure that vital work can continue and should not be put off as a result of lockdown.

It is important to note that the removal of non-ACM cladding is considered to be vital work. Further details can be found here.

Charities and Charity law – April 2020 Summary

The Charity Commission has published new guidance for the charity sector in relation to the Coronavirus outbreak – The guidance covers:

• Charity objects: understand if you can help with coronavirus efforts
• Support to pay charity staff
• Using reserves and restricted funds
• AGMs and other meetings: postponing or cancelling meetings
• Holding meetings online or by telephone
• Reporting serious incidents to the Charity Commission
• Keeping people safe

It is also worth noting that the Charity Commission’s contact centre remains open Mon – Fri, 9am – 5pm and can be reached on 0300 066 9197. The contact centre will be prioritising Coronavirus related issues.  

The Charity Commission has provided financial guidance and links to support during the Coronavirus Pandemic – The Charity Commission has published financial guidance and links to financial support for charities during The Pandemic.

Adult social care & support for tenants – April 2020 Summary

Action plan to support adult social care sector – The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published an action plan to support the adult social care sector in England. While this plan is not tailored to alsmhouses, it contains useful information on and links to how to manage and avoid and outbreak, PPE provisions, accommodating those coming out of NHS care and advice and support on how to keep living arrangements safe.

Loneliness plan during coronavirus lockdown – The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched a campaign aimed at tackling loneliness and social isolation during this period of social distancing. The campaign aims to encourage people to talk openly about loneliness and guarantee £5m for national loneliness organisations.

Taxation – April 2020 Summary

Digital links requirement for Making Tax Digital postponed – The Charity Tax Group reports that HMRC has confirmed the postponement of the requirement for digital links for Making Tax Digital, in order to support organisations through the coronavirus outbreak. HMRC has postponed the requirement until April 2021.

Refunding tickets for cancelled charity events during coronavirus – HMRC has published guidance on changes to help charities process refunds, collect donations and claim Gift Aid for events cancelled due to coronavirus.

Miscellaneous – April 2020 Summary

Coronavirus business support finder tool: The Government has launched a coronavirus business support finder tool to help organisations easily access the support that they are eligible for during the coronavirus pandemic. The tool will ask organisations to fill out an online questionnaire, where they will then be directed to a list of all the financial support that they may be eligible for.

Previous Policy and Governance Updates:

Click here for Policy and Governance – Mar 2020 Summary
Click here for Policy and Governance – Feb 2020 Summary
Click here for Policy and Governance –Jan 2020 Summary
Click here for Policy and Governance – 2019 Summary

Posted 11 May 2020

Following a member concern with regards to the impact of financial support from charities on beneficiaries’ Universal Credit payments, The Almshouse Association has received a written response from the Minister for Welfare Delivery, Will Quince.

The letter confirmed that financial support provided by charities to beneficiaries of all ages will not be considered as a rise in income. As a result of this, there will be no impact on the Universal Credit payments made to any beneficiary receiving financial support.

In the letter Mr Quince also expressed his thanks towards the almshouse movement for support it provides to those in need across the United Kingdom.

The letter can be found in full here

Related articles:
MPs respond to Association – 30 April 20
Association represents almshouses to Government – 30 Mar 20

Posted 06 May 20

Message from M&G Investment to members:

Dear investor,

Given high levels of recent market volatility and the meaningful loss of value in The M&G Charity Multi Asset Fund – coming shortly after some significant changes to the structure and management of the fund – we thought investors would appreciate an update on our views.

Primarily, we would like to emphasise that while there have been changes to fund structure and personnel, the key characteristics have not changed. The fund continues to operate with an equity range between 65% and 90%, has the bulk of exposures in Sterling denominated assets, and seeks to maintain distributions that steadily rise in cash terms over time (a yield of at least 3%).  This strong bias towards equities reflects the longer-term outlook of our investors and our investment philosophy. We recognise that ‘multi asset’ portfolios come in many different forms and, by and large, those with larger allocations to equities will have suffered more severe falls in March than those with a more balanced/cautious profile; however, it is important to remember that, on the flip side, portfolios that maintain a heavier bias towards equities will maintain more robust income flows during the downturn, and will invariably post stronger recoveries in capital value as we emerge from periods of extreme market stress.

What has changed is the flexibility on offer to the fund to make use of different funds across M&G’s suite of products to diversify exposures and capture a greater range of opportunities, and to make use of fund reserves to smooth the pattern of distributions in the face of volatility.

Nature and drivers of drawdown

As we entered March, the portfolio was positioned toward the middle of its equity range, light on bonds (with some emerging market exposure), and had a relatively high cash position, reflecting the fund manager’s view of the relative attractiveness of equity markets and concerns about very low yields on UK government bonds in particular.

In March itself, it was UK-focused equity positions which were the main detractors from return, given their focus on higher dividend payers. In a month in which diversification was hard to come by, UK and other developed government bonds provided some diversification but were not enough to prevent sharp losses.

Fund Responses

The volatility in March presented the opportunity to add to and diversify the fund’s equity exposures. New positions were opened in the M&G Global Select Fund and M&G Positive Impact fund. These are global equity funds run by the same manager and have a bias toward companies with strong balance sheets; the latter fund holds positions in companies which aim to solve social and environment problems, including health care companies.

Distributions

Dividend payments have been hit hard by the virus lockdown (since the 12^th March, 200 UK companies have announced the omission or deferral of dividends), while low bond yields are not in a position to make up the shortfall.  It is for just such situations that the fund’s income reserve facility was introduced under the previous ‘NAACIF’ fund structure, and this has been carried over in to the new fund. At present the environment remains very fluid and so we would be wary of looking ahead to make bold forecasts of distributions over the coming year. However, recent years of good performance and strong income growth have allowed for a reserve to be built up, leaving the fund in a position to put some of this to work to distribute to clients.  At this stage, we foresee no reason why the fund cannot maintain the same level of income in 2020/21 as we delivered last year (3.50p per income unit).  Since conversion in November 2019, this fund now has a broader remit to access a wider range of income streams from different global assets.

Conclusion

It is our firm belief that the fund is well positioned to take advantage of a strong recovery when it comes.  At present valuations (end of April), the distribution yield now stands at 4.60%; this is attractive both for those seeking a strong income cashflow, and as a significant contribution to future total return.

As more clarity emerges we will endeavour to communicate as much as possible.  Part of this will be in the form of our new monthly fund reports, the first of which are attached.

If you have any further questions regarding performance or portfolio positioning on the M&G Charity Multi Asset Fund, please contact me directly on 020 3977 3623, or via email at charities@mandg.co.uk.  I am also available for ‘virtual’ meetings if your Investment Committee or Trustee Board would appreciate a more comprehensive update, along with my colleagues Tristan Hanson (Fund Manager) and Stuart Canning (Deputy Fund Manager). 

Should you have any administrative queries, or require copies of valuation statements and distribution vouchers, please contact our Charities Helpline on 0800 917 4472 or email info@mandg.co.uk.

Richard Macey
Director of Charities, UK Distribution      
M&G Investments

Posted 06 May 2020

During this coronavirus pandemic, The Almshouse Association has been proactive in ensuring that the concerns, needs and wishes of almshouse charities are heard and understood by policy makers in Westminster and beyond.

We have corresponded with ministers and MPs with targeted approaches to those in positions of influence on the frontbenches in Westminster and in the devolved powers.

This approach has produced a positive initial response, with a number of politicians responding to our communications either directly, to their local almshouse or raising the issues with other ministers. Those responding include The Minister of Health, Edward Argar, The Welsh Health Minister, Vaughan Gething and the Shadow Chancellor, Annalise Dodds, who has pledged to apply pressure onto government on our behalf.

Our message on your behalf is getting through and is being heard. We need to keep up the pressure to make sure actions follows.

We will keep you updated.

Posted 30 April 2020

The Almshouse Association is pleased to announce that we have added three new online training courses to our website course library.

With many of us are working from home, you may find you now have the time to take one or more of the courses on offer. Most are no more than 30-40 minutes long, are CPD accredited and you can download a certificate on completion.

All member charities have been issued with 6 credits per charity ( please do let us know if your need more). Each course uses one credit.

By clicking into the links below, you will be taken directly through to the course pages where you just need to follow the instructions.

Legionella Awareness – NEW

Health and Safety Basics and Essentials – NEW

Fire Awareness – NEW

GDPR Essentials

Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults

Mental Health Awareness

If you have any problems accessing, please do give us a call on 01344 452922 or email us at almshousesupport@almshouses.org

Posted 29 April 2020