NAACIF – upcoming fund changes

M&G are proposing changes for the future management of assets.  Key among these are to broaden the investment mandate across a wider range of global assets, reducing annual fees from 0.60% to 0.50%, and opening access to all UK charities under the new fund name “M&G Charity Multi Asset Fund”. Shareholders have been invited to vote ahead of the EGM scheduled for Friday 4^th October.  If members have any questions, please contact Richard Macey at M&G directly on 020 3977 3623 or charities@mandg.co.uk

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The Charity Commission has recently notified the Association about a number guidance pages that have been updated on the Charity Commission website.

Please click on the links below to access..

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Online services for charities – Log in to the Charity Commission’s online services, get a new password for your charity, and other services for charities.

How to update your charity’s details – If you last submitted your annual return before 12 November 2018, you’ll likely need to confirm your charity’s details are correct before you can use the annual return service.

Prepare a charity annual return – You are required to send an annual return or tell the Charity Commission your income and expenditure every year if your charity is registered in England or Wales.

List of Charity Commission guidance publications – A collection of the Charity Commission’s ‘CC’ detailed guidance publications, from CC3 to CC49.

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Posted 17 Sept 19

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Our News item of 23 March 2019 advised almshouse charities that the Association had been in discussions with the BBC regarding their interpretation of legislation on concessionary licences (ARC licences) . Click here for news item.

The Association was pleased to be able to report to our members that we had received a letter from the BBC accepting the Association’s interpretation of the law. We can now confirm that the TV Licensing website has been updated to make it clear that almshouse charities established before 1 November 1949 qualify for a concessionary licence.

Click here for further details on concessionary licences

Posted 16 Sept 19

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Welsh Government confirms that the almshouse charities are exempt from the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.

In July 2019, Nick Phillips, the Chief Executive of the Almshouse Association, wrote to the Welsh Government asking them to confirm that any legal issues relating to the appointment of beneficiaries of Welsh almshouses are dealt with under existing charity law rather than the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.

The Welsh Government has responded to confirm that this will be the case and a copy of the letter can be found here and supporting information here.

The resolving of this issue is vital not only to Welsh almshouses but to the wider almshouse movement as it reaffirms the position that almshouse residents are appointed as beneficiaries of the charity.

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The Almshouse Association has called on the Government to make it clear in planning policy that almshouse charities are a recognised form of affordable housing.

In a written submission to the Committee’s inquiry into long-term delivery of social and affordable rented housing, the Association stated that:

In order to encourage more almshouse charities to build more affordable homes and encourage investment in housing from non-government funds, all almshouse charities should be regarded as affordable housing for planning purposes.

The Almshouse Association, July 2019

The full report can be found here

Click here for further information on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee’s enquiry.

Posted: 15 July 19

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Our inaugural Members Day Conference proved to be the inspirational day we hoped it would be.

Held at the stunning Haberdashers Hall, West Smithfield, London EC1A on Wednesday 5th June 2019, it was an early start for all the Almshouse Association staff, setting up and making sure we had everything in place to greet our members.

The day began with Chief Executive, Nick Phillips welcoming a full house to the first Members Day Conference in the impressive Livery Hall, followed by Liz Fathi, Chair of the Almshouse Association who briefed delegates on the future plans for the Association.

Dr Alison Armstrong was the first of our speakers who took to the stage and talked about the research being undertaken by Whiteley Village, the Association, Anglia Ruskin University and AgeUK on almshouse living.

Throughout the day, delegates were given a choice of talks and were treated to expert information from a host of specialists:

• Helen Boyd on Safeguarding Vulnerable adults
• Chris Drinkall of Rollits LLP on Mediation: Avoiding and resolving disputes
• Tim Rutherford of Stone King LLP on Update on Legislation and Regulation
• Gerry Morrison of Rollits LLP on Setting Aside Scenarios
• Sean Stafford, Kathy Green of ACL and Carolyn Sims of Charity Bank on Loans, Grant and Project Management.

( all presentations can be found by clicking the link).

During breaks our delegates were able to visit the exhibitor stands to learn about the different services on offer and enjoy the networking opportunities. Feedback forms report how much everyone valued interaction with trustees from different charities and Almshouse Association Staff.

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“Love the format – really feels like a Members Day and that one can actually participate”

Member Feedback form

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Following the AGM section of the Conference (click here for full details), Keynote Speaker, Jon Sparkes , CEO of Crisis spoke of his experiences on the very topical issue ‘Homelessness and the Affordable Housing Challenge’.

Q & A sessions followed lunch; our panel of experts were put through their paces with a variety of questions and had time permitted, we know there were a lot more questions and answers that members were eager to explore.

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“The collective experience in the room was amazing”

Paul Mullis, DAMHA

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Liz Fathi read out a message from our Patron, HRH The Prince of Wales, following which the Patron’s Awards were announced…

Patron’s Awards went to 3 outstanding projects completed in 2018:

• Chandos & Dent’s Almshouses, Winchcombe, Gloucester
• Charity of James Goodman, Cranfield, Bedfordshire
• The Mills Charity, Framlingham, Suffolk

The Almshouse Association introduce 2 new awards for 2018. – ‘Excellence & Inspiration’ and ‘Gardens & People’.

The following charities were given an award for Excellence and Inspiration:

• Worcester Municipal Charities
• Mabel Luke Charity, Newbury, Berkshire
• The Finchley Charities, London
• A group of 4 charities working together: Harborne Parish Lands Charity, Lench’s Trust, Sir Josiah Mason Trust, Yardley Great Trust
• Peter Birtwistle Trust

The Almshouse Association Gardens & People Award for charities that have encouraged residents to take part in community projects, such as gardening. The following charities were presented with Gardens & People awards:

• Hammersmith United Charities, London
• Rogers Almshouses, Harrogate, North Yorkshire
• The Eventide Homes, Bournemouth
• Tiverton Almshouse Charity, Taunton
• St Giles Almshouses at Wilton United Charities

Keynote Speaker, General Sir Mike Jackson, closed the day. Drawing from his extraordinary military career spanning almost 45 years – from Officer Cadet to Chief of General Staff, the highest level of the British Army – he delivered an inspiring and uplifting speech, ensuring the Almshouse Association Inaugural Members Day Conference finished on a wonderful high!

“Thank you to all. There was a real ‘buzz’ about the day – excited to feel part of such a progressive and forward thinking almshouse movement”

Member Feedback form

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Published: 1 July 19

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The Almshouse Association 2019 AGM was held on Wednesday 5th June 2019 at The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers’, Haberdashers’ Hall, 18 West Smithfield, London EC1A 9HQ.

The following are the main points of the meeting:

1. The minutes of the 2018 AGM held at The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors, London EC2R on 13th June 2048 were proposed, seconded, carried and adopted.
2. The following trustees retired and re-submitted themselves, were proposed and seconded:
   • Rob Douglas
   • Richard Knipe
   • Margaret Stewart
3. Four new trustees were introduced by Chair, Liz Fathi, proposed and seconded:
   • Andrew Barnes
   • Quentin Elston
   • David Healey
   • Jim Kennedy
4. The following Trustees retired and were thanked for their many years of valuable support:
   • Alan Martin
   • David Dunbar
5. The Annual Report and Accounts for 2018 were presented by Mr S J Ling – Honorary Secretary. Simon outlined the key issues on income and expenditure, commenting on a slight fall in donation income from the previous year and increases in expenditure. He noted the investment falls, concluding that the Association is in a financially strong position and presenting the 5 Year Plan to improve services, raise the profile and drive engagement with government. No questions were asked and the motion to adopt the accounts was proposed, seconded and adopted.
6. Appointment of auditors for 2019 recommended: Buzzacott LLP – proposed and seconded.
7. There followed a report on NAACIF by Mr N Talbot Rice, Chairman of the NAACIF Board of Trustees. Nick Talbot Rice outlined the new direction for the NAACIF fund, highlighting how the fund would be opened to other charities. Nick stated that in the foreseeable future the Almshouse Association would maintain a portion of the Association’s investment in the fund. Nick was thanked by Liz Fathi who also thanked Michael Whitfeld; retiring from the NAACIF Board after 20 years hard work and support in helping oversee the investments with M&G.
8. There was no other business. Liz Fathi invited the attendees to stay and listen to the presentation by Jon Sparkes, CEO of Crisis, that followed the AGM.

Published: 1 July 19

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On 25^th June 2019, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the report – ‘An Independent Review of the Use and Effectiveness of Selective Licensing’. The Almshouse Association is enormously pleased to learn that the report recommends that all almshouses should be exempt from Selective Licensing fees.

The report contains a dedicated section on almshouses (see 11.4 of the full report  and extracted here for ease) and concludes….

“There is a strong case to be made that purpose-built student accommodation (where operating under a Government approved code), and non-profit charities (operating under the guidelines of the charity commission) that are not registered providers of social housing, should be added to the list presumed exempt from the licence fee. In the case of purpose-built student accommodation, the code of practice adhered to holds them to a much higher standard than a licensing scheme. Non-profit charities (e.g. almshouses, veterans housing charities) provide a valuable service to the local community whilst often working on the slimmest of margins. The cost of licensing adversely affects their financial viability, and Charity Commission guidelines already prescribe good management and maintenance practices.”

We will update members as soon as we have an indication of next steps. In the meantime, if you have been impacted by Selective Licensing and would like to discuss it further with the Almshouse Association, please contact ChrisTargowski@almshouses.org

To recap on how we got here, please click on the link.

Published 25/06/19

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Almshouse Association Chair, Liz Fathi has been in communication with the Almshouse Association equivalent in Holland for some years and has, with a team including our research partners, visited Holland to see first-hand what works well for almshouses in Holland.

The similarities are striking in the spirit of the movement, the architecture and the management. The pride of residents in “their” almshouse was significant and inspiring.

We will be hosting the Dutch association members this October and arranging for them to visit a number of almshouse charities; our hope is that we can find ways to share good practice and learn from each other. The first European almshouse workshop!

We will report more as plans develop.

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