To help our members access the most up-to-date information and guidance, we have now moved to dated updates. This will hopefully make our coronavirus updates easier and quicker to read. We will update this page as and when new information arises and/or we develop new guidance.

For the most up-to-date government advice, please visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus.

Monday 29th June 2020

The Charity Commission has updated its guidance for charitable companies and CIOs in relation to new laws affecting members’ meetings and insolvency. These provisions are set out in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 and came into effect on 26 June. The Charity Commission guidance states:

‘AGMs for companies or CIOs: any that had to be held between 26 March 2020 and 21 August 2020 can be delayed until 30 September 2020 at the latest. This is allowed by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 and also applies to community benefit and friendly societies. It temporarily overrides the timing requirements in a charity’s governing documents. This deadline of 30 September may be extended if the government thinks this is needed. We will update with any changes if they happen.’

The new laws do not apply to unincorporated charities. If the governing document of an unincorporated charities specifies when an AGM should be held, the charity can amend its governing document to allow more flexibility.

To read the full guidance, please go to:

www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-the-charity-sector

Wednesday 24th June 2020

The Government has announced a wide range of measures that come into effect over the coming days/weeks:

Those who are shielding: What has changed?

The government has updated its guidance for people who are shielding taking into account that coronavirus COVID-19 infection rates have decreased significantly over the last few weeks. This guidance remains advisory.

People who are shielding remain vulnerable and should continue to take precautions but may now choose to leave their home, as long as they are able to maintain strict social distancing. If you choose to spend time outdoors, you may do so with members of your own household. If you live alone, you can spend time outdoors with one person from another household or you may choose to spend time outdoors with one person from another household. Ideally, this should be the same person each time.

If you do go out, you should take extra care to minimise contact with others by keeping 2 metres apart. This guidance will be kept under regular review.

On 22 June the government set out a series of steps for further relaxing shielding guidance which will come into effect on 6 July and 1 August.

From 6 July, the government will be advising:

  • you may, if you wish, meet in a group of up to 6 people outdoors, including people from different households, while maintaining strict social distancing
  • you no longer need to observe social distancing with other members of your household
  • in line with the wider guidance for single adult households (either an adult living alone or with dependent children under 18) in the general population, you may from this date, if you wish, also form a ‘support bubble’ with one other household. All those in a support bubble will be able to spend time together inside each other’s homes, including overnight, without needing to socially distance

From 1 August the Government will be advising that shielding will be paused. From this date, the Government is advising you to adopt strict social distancing rather than full shielding measures. Strict social distancing means you may wish to go out to more places and see more people but you should take particular care to minimise contact with others outside your household or support bubble.

In practice this means that from 1 August:

  • you can go to work, if you cannot work from home, as long as the business is COVID-safe
  • children who are clinically extremely vulnerable can return to their education settings if they are eligible and in line with their peers. Where possible children should practise frequent hand washing and social distancing
  • you can go outside to buy food, to places of worship and for exercise but you should maintain strict social distancing
  • you should remain cautious as you are still at risk of severe illness if you catch coronavirus, so the advice is to stay at home where possible and, if you do go out, follow strict social distancing

The guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable group remains advisory. More detailed advice will be updated in this guidance as the changes in advice come into effect on 6 July and 1 August.

Unless the Government sees a significant rise in cases they expect the shielding programme to be paused on 31 July.

Those in receipt of centrally provided food boxes and medicine deliveries will continue to receive this support until the end of July if they want it.

Read further information on schools and the workplace for those living in households where people are shielding.

Distancing guidelines [for those that are not shielding]

From 4 July the 2m distancing rule will be changed. The PM advised that the 2m distancing rule is still the ideal, but where it is not possible, people should keep a distance of “one metre plus” – this means staying one metre apart, whilst observing a number of precautions to reduce the risk of transmission. These precautions include:

  • Sitting side to side rather than face to face
  • Continued use of face coverings
  • Increased use of hand sanitiser/washing hands properly

Hospitality

  • Restaurants and pubs will also be allowed to reopen from 4 July, providing they follow safety guidelines.
  • All hospitality indoors will be limited to table service, and contact between staff and customers will be limited.
  • Customers will have to give contact details when they enter a pub or restaurant.
  • People in England will be free to stay away from home overnight for the first time since lockdown began in March.

Meeting other households

  • Two households of any size will be able to meet indoors or outside.
  • This does not have to be the same set of households – but the government does not recommend meetings of multiple households indoors because of the risk of infection.
  • Outdoors, people from multiple households can meet in groups of up to six – but two households can meet regardless of size.

What else will reopen?

  • Hairdressers will be able to reopen, as long as they take precautions.
  • Libraries, community centres, bingo halls, cinemas, museums and galleries will be able to open, along with funfairs and theme parks, amusement arcades, outdoor skating rinks, indoor leisure centres, social clubs and model villages.
  • Places of worship will be able to open for prayers and services.

Thursday 11 June 2020

The government has updated its guidance on meeting people from outside your household. In addition to the measures introduced at the beginning of June, new rules will be introduced on 13th June for single person households (those who live alone) and single parent households.

Under the new rules, people from single person and single parent households will be able to form a ‘support bubble’ with one other household. Those in the support bubble will be able to spend time in each others’ homes without needing to stay 2m apart. They will also be able to stay overnight. Details about the new rules can be found at:  

www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-people-from-outside-your-household

The new rules are likely to impact almshouse residents, many of whom live alone. You should make your residents aware of the changes and, if their letter of appointment asks them to do so, remind them that they should inform you if they’re going to be away from the almshouses overnight. Some almshouses have treated their community as a single household for the purposes of the lockdown, which has enabled residents to continue to interact with each other indoors over the past few months. If this is the approach your charity has taken, we would suggest speaking to your residents to see whether this is something they wish to continue or if they would like to move to the new government rules from 13th June.

This new guidance does not apply to those who are clinically extremely vulnerable who will need to continue to shield until 30th June 2020. Details about who should be shielding and what they can or cannot do can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

Monday 8 June 2020

Panel of Consultants member, Stone King, will be holding a webinar on 17th June titled ‘Post-Lockdown Risk Assessments and Moving On – An Almshouse Toolkit’. The webinar will provide legal guidance and practical tips as we start to emerge from the lockdown. Full details about the webinar, including booking information, can be found at:

www.stoneking.co.uk/event/webinar-post-lockdown-risk-assessments-and-moving-almshouse-toolkit-17062020

The Charity Commission has updated it’s guidance on reporting serious incidents, which includes examples of serious incidents as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

www.gov.uk/guidance/reporting-serious-incidents-to-the-charity-commission-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic.

Wednesday 3 June 2020

The government has updated its guidance for landlords, tenants and local authorities. The main changes are around the maintenance and repair works on properties, which can now take place provided social distancing and hygiene measures are adhered to and the resident is not shielding or self-isolating.

It also offers guidance around moving home, which is also now allowed. If your charity has a vacancy, you may need to consider how to manage this process in a safe way. Some options could be to hold interviews via video conference (e.g. Zoom) and offering a virtual tour of the property. If your residents are particularly vulnerable and there are communal spaces, you may wish to ask the person moving in to self-isolate for up to 14 days.

The full guidance can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities.

The government has also issued guidance on working safely during coronavirus. There are eight different guides available, covering different types of work. The most relevant to almshouse charities are likely to be ‘Offices and Contact Centres’ and ‘Other People’s Homes’. Each guide offers advice on risks that need to be considered, social distancing, cleaning and PPE. You can find the full list of guides at:

www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19. 

Monday 1 June 2020

The government has announced that from today groups of up to six people are able to meet outdoors in England, including in gardens and other private outdoor spaces, provided strict social distancing guidelines are followed. This will enable people to see their friends and family. They must not, however, meet indoors as the risk of contracting Covid-19 is increased.

The government has produced some guidance on how to access green spaces safely. These can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-guidance-on-access-to-green-spaces

Those who received a letter from their GP asking them to shield are also now allowed to leave home to exercise with someone from their household or, if they live alone, with one other person from outside their household so long as social distancing is maintained. These people are still advised not to go shopping and to keep any contact with people from outside their household to a minimum. Please note that this guidance is for England only at this stage. The updated guidance for those who are shielding can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

In Scotland, people are allowed to meet outside with residents from one other household at a time and no more than eight people at one time (e.g. two households of four people). They can meet in parks or private gardens. People in Scotland are also advised not to travel more than five miles from their homes. Those who are shielding should continue to do so. Similar rules will apply in Wales, though there will be no limit to the number of people from the two households.

In Northern Ireland, groups of four to six people who are not in the same household can meet outdoors.

What does this mean for your charity and residents?

If you closed your communal gardens at the start of the lockdown, you may wish to look at opening these up. If you have a number of residents who would like to meet their families and friends at the almshouses, you may wish to have a booking system in place to ensure that social distancing can be maintained. You should remind residents and visitors of good hygiene practices and provide hand sanitiser where appropriate. If you provide any garden furniture, you will need to consider how this will be cleaned between use. Residents should also be reminded of their obligations under the new NHS Test and Trace scheme (see 28 May 2020 update)

Communal lounges and kitchens should remain closed to discourage residents from meeting indoors.

We’re aware that some almshouse charities chose to implement stricter lockdowns back in March in consultation with their residents. You will need to start thinking about how you are going to relax these measures whilst keeping your residents safe. This may require you to consult with your residents again to see how they would like to proceed. A good starting point may be to allow your residents to meet family members in the communal garden, following the guidance given above. If you are not able to offer this straight away, you should advise your residents that you are working to find the safest way of doing this and give them an idea of when they might be able to use the garden.

If you continue to maintain a strict lockdown for an extended period of time, you may find your residents and their families start to get a bit agitated and you will need to consider how you manage this.

For May updates, click here
For April updates, click here
Pre April Covid19 webpage here.

Posted 1 June 2020; lasted updated 29 June 2020 11:14 am