News summary of the latest Policy and Governance legislation that could impact and/or may require action from our member charities, with links to further information where applicable.

GOVERNMENT

  • Guidance for members operating heat networks – The government has outlined how members operating heat networks must ‘pass-through’ the savings made through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

    There are certain requirements for members which include:
    • Informing all your heat network customers how and when savings will be passed onto them. Savings must be passed on by 30 November 2022, or within 30 days of receiving the discounted prices from your energy supplier. To help with this, you will find a template letter here.
    • Registering with the Energy Ombudsman for the redress scheme. More information will be found on the Energy Ombudsman website. Heat suppliers can also contact heatnetworks@beis.gov.uk for more information on the redress scheme.

      You can find further guidance on the Energy Bill Relief Scheme pass-through requirements for heat networks here, including how to inform customers and calculating the pass through.

      If you are benefitting from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme on your commercial electricity supply, used for communal areas (lighting, lifts, security doors, etc.), these savings also need to be passed through to customers. In these cases where you are acting as an intermediary, there is guidance for intermediaries. The deadline for the notification is 30 days from the benefit being provided to the intermediary.
  • Former Housing Minister Appointed as Charities Minister – Short-lived housing minister Stuart Andrews MP has been appointed as charities minister by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

    The Association will be in touch with Mr Andrews and hope that in his new role he can champion and protect the charitable status of almshouse charities in government.

    Lucy Frazer MP has also now been announced as the new housing minister. The Association has written to Mrs Frazer to ask for her support.
  • Housing Ombudsman Issues Call for Evidence on Poor Record Keeping – The Housing Ombudsman has issued a call for evidence to support its next systemic investigation which will look at record keeping and data management. This has been a consistent theme found by the Ombudsman in its casework with 67% of investigations upheld in 2021-22 involving poor records.

    Complaint handlers are invited to submit evidence which will help the Ombudsman make recommendations that promote greater understanding of the importance of information and knowledge management.

    You can submit evidence here until December 23rd 2022.
  • Government Confirms Support for Oil Heating – Households that don’t use main gas – such as homes with heating oil, LPG or biomass boilers – will get an additional ÂŁ100 to help with energy bills this winter, on top of the ÂŁ400 you’ll get from your electricity supplier.

    The Government has now confirmed this money will come from your electricity supplier, and will be added to your energy account as bill credit, but it hasn’t said when yet. It has also said that if you don’t have a direct relationship with an electricity supplier, you’ll still get the payment, though it has yet to announce how this will be paid.

    The Association will provide further updates when we know more.

CHARITY COMMISSION

Setting up ‘My Charity Commission Account’ – ‘My Charity Commission Account’ is a new way for trustees and charity contacts to access the Charity Commission’s online services. It can also be used by other people you have authorised, such as your accountant or lawyer.

The Commission has published guidance to help trustees get set up on the new system which can be found here.

FUNDING

CAF opens Keystone Fund for small charities – The Keystone Fund aims to enable locally and regionally focused charities working towards social equity to become more agile in their support for their communities. It provides a programme of unrestricted grants, networking and access to advice webinars and toolkits.

Grants available:

  • Unrestricted grants, intended to enable charitable organisations in the UK to adapt ways of working, strengthen capacity or build resilience, according to identified needs.
  • Grants will be awarded between ÂŁ5,000 and ÂŁ50,000
  • Approximately 120 grants will be awarded over 2-3 rounds during 2022-23.
  • Grant funds must begin to be spent within 6 months of grant payment, but can be carried forward into the following financial year if required to enable flexibility. They should be fully spent within 24 months of grant payment.

Grants will not normally be restricted to specific projects, but CAF will ask you to tell them how you would like to use the funds. It is hoped that charitable organisations can use a grant to become more agile in their support for their communities. This might include the costs of leadership time to develop strategy or organisational capacity, or to access additional external expertise, support and advice to develop their resilience plans. Grants might also be used for staff costs, digital costs, overheads, delivery costs or equipment, according to your identified longer-term needs.

In addition, building on CAF’s advisory opportunities for charities across the UK, all grant holders will gain access to webinars, toolkits, and networking opportunities to accelerate their impact.

More details can be found here.

ENERGY

Centrica scheme to support battery storage – Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, are looking for 2-3 acres of land to support the growth of energy storage. In particular they are looking for land which is:

  • Grade 3 or poorer i.e. could not be used for arable farming
  • Near a substation (not essential, but better)
  • Near a grid connection

If you have an interest in this type of scheme, you can find more information here. It is likely that other companies are offering similar schemes and if interested it would be advisable to consult 2 or 3 other organisations before proceeding.

Note: It is also important to check your governing documents regarding how land you own can be used.

REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE

Inquest hears how boy’s death linked to mould in home – An ongoing inquest has heard that the death of a two-year old boy was directly linked to exposure to mould in the flat where he lived.

The case comes as the government pushes for higher standards in both the private and social sectors of housing. This tragic case serves as a reminder to members of how important it is that you keep track of maintenance issues as they arise and ideally planning effectively for them before they do. One of the best ways to achieve this is through quinquennial surveys which allow you to plan maintenance over a number of years.

RECORD OF PREVIOUS 2022 Policy and Governance updates:

Posted 14 November 2022