Councils can provide greater support to new almshouses through Right to Buy
The Almshouse Association welcomes the Government’s announcement granting more freedom to local councils on how they spend funds raised through Right to Buy. Local councils can spend the money raised on housing which is at affordable and social rent level, something which The Almshouse Association believes should be used to help develop new, genuinely affordable almshouses.
By choosing almshouses, local councils can help contribute to national housing targets of providing 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s and also ensure that there is a permanent source of genuinely affordable housing in their community. There is growing momentum to see greater levels of truly affordable housing, particularly for groups such as key workers. We must use this momentum, and greater funding to provide a new generation of affordable homes, with almshouses at its heart.
Posted 24 March 21
90 members logged in for an Almshouse Association webinar on 23rd March 21 with Ros Hammond, Director and Founder of Employment Law in Action employment issues faced by almshouse charities.
The webinar covered:
- considerations for engaging employed vs self-employed individuals
- the challenges in respect of working hours and ‘on call arrangements’
- how to review salaries in accordance with your structure and market value.
If you were not able to attend or would like to recap on all the topics, please click in the buttons below to view a recording and powerpoint slides of the webinar.
Posted 23 March 21
Almshouse Association Response to New Government Guidance on Pets
The Government recently announced a new template tenancy agreement which can be use by landlords in the private rented sector.
The new template states that private landlords cannot have a blanket ‘no pets’ policy and that they must consider allowing well behaved pets. This guidance is not applicable to almshouses as they make use of licences, not tenancy agreements, however, following discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, we have received confirmation that it is expected that almshouses would follow the spirit of the guidance and consider allowing pets on a case-by-case basis.
NOTE: It is not a requirement to allow pets in all circumstances, such as the property not being appropriate for pets, but this decision should be fair and justified.
As part of this process, members may wish to consider:
- Whether your almshouse dwellings could practically accommodate a pet
- The benefits which allowing a pet may bring to residents, this could be achieved by consulting with residents for their opinions
- If necessary, updating your Letter of Appointment and Resident Handbooks to include clear guidance on pets
- If your charity does choose to allow residents to keep pets, we would recommend having a policy in place which requires residents to have plans in place (e.g. a named contact person) should they no longer be able to look after their animals themselves.
Posted 23 March 2021
Thomas Parsons Square residents to benefit from move to purpose-built bungalows
Thomas Parsons’ Charity has been granted planning permission to build nine purpose-built bungalows for residents on land the charity owns on Deacons Lane in the Cathedral City of Ely in the heart of Cambridgeshire to be named ‘Chorister Court’.
The bungalows, which are set to be finished by autumn 2021, will replace the current almshouses at Thomas Parsons Square in the city and will help residents stay in the accommodation for longer.
The Thomas Parsons’ Charity almshouses at Thomas Parsons Square were built in 1884 and originally comprised of 30 units. In 1961 the Charity started to modernise the almshouses, enlarging the accommodation by amalgamating two or more units in to one.
The new bungalows have been designed so that residents can maintain their independence with step free access, convenient internal layouts and high levels of insulation. The almhouses will also come with digital and satellite TV, broadband connection and storage for electric chairs and buggies with charging points.
The decision to relocate residents was made following a long-term review by the governors of the charity, after taking advice from The Almshouse Association. They deemed that, because of its Grade II Listed status, the existing almshouses could not be adapted to help residents maintain their independence for as long as possible. The scheme will provide six one bedroom and three two bedroom single storey units with gardens.
Chorister Court is located adjacent to the Charity’s other almshouses at Bamford House and Deacons Lane Bungalows meaning that all of the Charity’s residents will be in one location, where there will be 25 units in total. This will benefit the residents who will be in a close knit community.
Thomas Parsons Square will be retained by the Charity and a decision on its future use will be made in due course.
David Brand, Chairman, of the Thomas Parsons Charity, which was founded in 1497, said:
“The governors all felt that building new almhouses that were specifically designed for older people would greatly benefit residents and the fact is we could not do that with Thomas Parsons Square, because of the constraints of the building having listed status. The residents needs are of paramount concern to the governors of Thomas Parsons Charity and we look forward to welcoming the residents to the new almhouses once they have been completed.”
Each month, the Association 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 Feb/Mar 21 Summary.
Charity Commission
Five-minute guides for charity trustees – The Charity Commission has published a series of five-minute guides with some basic guidance for trustees. Members may wish to refresh their understanding or distribute to new trustees:
Adult Social Care
Free PPE for unpaid carers – The Department for Health and Social Care has announced that, following a successful pilot scheme to establish the distribution method and logistics, free PPE is now being made available to “extra-resident” unpaid carers who need it. Beneficiaries who receive care from family members or similar may be eligible.
Energy and Environment
Energy price cap to increase in April – Ofgem has announced that, that from 1 April 2021, the price cap will return to pre-pandemic levels, principally as a result of changes in wholesale energy prices. Ofgem also notes that support is available for those struggling to pay their energy bills, especially those in vulnerable circumstances. It also states that consumers who want to avoid the increase and save money should shop around ahead of the increase in the price cap on 1 April.
Taxation
Submission of charity accounts – More than 13,000 charities missed the deadline to submit their financial documents in January, according to the Charity Commission. This is more than double the number which missed the deadline last year, when around 6,000 were late filing. Charities with financial years ending on 31 March – a large chunk of the sector – needed to file their accounts and annual return with the Commission by 31 January. The regulator received accounts on time from 35,689 charities. It will be following up with the 13,093 charities that have not met the deadline. Members should reach out to The Almshouse Association if they are in need of support.
Coronavirus
You can find all our Coronavirus updates here
Previous Policy and Governance updates:
Policy & Governance update – February 2021 Summary
Policy and Governance update – January 2021 Summary
Policy & Governance update – December 2020 Summary
Policy and Governance – October 2020 Summary
Policy and Governance – September 2020 Summary
Policy and Governance – July/August 2020 Summary
Policy and Governance – June 2020 Summary
Policy and Governance – May 2020 Summary
Policy and Governance – Apr 2020 Summary
Policy and Governance – Mar 2020 Summary
Policy and Governance – Feb 2020 Summary
Policy and Governance –Jan 2020 Summary
Policy and Governance – 2019 Summary
Posted 8 Mar 21
The Government is currently expanding the provision of asymptomatic testing to help identify and isolate positive cases of Covid-19 among those who need to leave home to go to work.
There are currently two routes to testing available:
Workplace Testing
Workplace testing is provided by employers (with more than 50 employees) to their staff in both the private and public sectors. This is unlikely to be an option for the vast majority of almshouse charities given their size. If , however, you do employ 50 or more staff and would be interested in offering workplace testing, you can register your interest at:
www.gov.uk/get-workplace-coronavirus-tests.
You will then be contacted by NHS Test and Trace and invited to a webinar to find out more information and decide whether to take part. Testing would be delivered by sites at the workplace.
Community Testing
Local authorities are delivering community testing via asymptomatic testing sites for those who need to leave their homes to go to work but are not offered testing by their employer. This is likely to include almshouse charities, particularly those that employ resident wardens who continue to work on site. If you charity wishes to use community testing, you should direct your employees to the DHSC postcode checker available at:
www.gov.uk/find-covid-19-lateral-flow-test-site.
Further Information
If you are a small charity with fewer than 50 employees and would like to know how to access testing for asymptomatic cases in your community, please contact CommunityTesting.CentralOps@dhsc.gov.uk.
If your charity has more than 50 employees and you have questions relating to workplace testing, please email p-and-psector@dhsc.gov.uk.
For more general queries about how these options for testing might work your charity, please contact MHCLGTestingEnquiries@communities.gov.uk.
Posted 8 March 21
On Thursday 11 March, Almshouse Association CEO Nick Phillips will be taking part in Aberdeen Standard’s Charity Matters virtual event together with legal expert Gordon Reid, Partner at Moore Barlow.
During this webinar, the panel will be discussing a future vision for almshouses in the 21st Century and current legal/governance issues.
Almshouse charities are not the only organisations facing the twin challenges of being shaped by a long history whilst also looking to be ready to address the challenges of today, so it is expected that other heritage bodies will find the webinar of great interest, making for a captivating and useful live Q&A session.
If you would like to register for the webinar, please click in the link below
Posted 2 Mar 21
Almshouse Association panel member Geoff Trobridge from Lester Aldridge LLP, hosted a webinar on behalf of The Almshouse Association on the topic of Trustee roles and responsibilities on 25th February 2021.
85 members signed up for this popular webinar which covered:
- The duties of a trustee
- What trustees are responsible for
- How to reduce liability
A recording and powerpoint slides are now available to all members and can be accessed by clicking in the links below;
Posted 2 March 2021
Methodist Homestead Almshouses Charity are delighted to announce the celebration of 35 years of service for Warden Jenny Heginbothom (along with her husband Geoff, who has been their handyman/gardener for 20 years). Jenny and Geoff are retiring from Methodist Homestead Almshouses Charity this year.
Alistair Cochran, secretary and clerk to the trustees comments,
“Jenny and Geoff have given wonderful service over 35 years and have overseen so many changes in our homes. Over the years they have served countless cups of tea and coffee and more recently provided a monthly Sunday lunch for our residents. During the pandemic, they have encouraged outdoor socially distanced activities including a VE Day party and a MacMillan Coffee Morning. Geoff’s contribution to keeping lawns mowed, hedges trimmed and doing many small maintenance jobs around the site (not least shovelling snow and putting salt down to keep the pathways safe) has been invaluable to us. Our current Chairman commented that they leave big shoes to fill and we will all miss them but wish them well for the next chapter in their lives.”
Thank you, Alistair, for sharing this with us and many congratulations to Jenny and Geoff on their well-deserved retirement!
The Almshouse Association welcomes the inclusion of comments in Church Times from CEO Nick Phillips following the publication of the Church of England’s Coming Home report.
The report marks the most significant public support for almshouses in many years and should be viewed as a call to action for the Church and the wider almshouse movement. We believe that, used effectively, the relationship between the Church and the almshouse movement can lead to a new era of almshouses throughout the country.
You can read the full article here
Posted 1 March 21