Newsletter - June 2010
LawWorks for Community Groups
Welcome to the LawWorks for Community Groups newsletter featuring legal articles which may be of interest to small charities, community groups and social enterprises who have contacted us in the past. We aim to keep you updated on key legal developments affecting the charitable sector so that you can apply them to your own groups and obtain more legal knowledge. We hope you find the newsletter useful and interesting – please let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions!
Don't forget to have a look at our fact sheets for useful information on various areas of law. Our latest include a comprehensive series of fact sheets on recruiting staff for the first time.
Best wishes,
Ruth Thompson (Newsletter Editor)
In this issue:
LawWorks Pro Bono Awards Winners 2010 Announced
The New Government and the Third Sector
Free answers to brief legal questions: LawWorks Initial Electronic Advice
Refugee and Migrant Justice goes into administration
Briefings on using the Compact
Handling unexpected absence outside of employee control
Updated information on paternity rights
Charity Commission to issue guidance on Equality Act
Challenge to 'fit and proper' test
LawWorks Pro Bono Awards Winners Announced
We presented our annual Pro Bono Awards at our Ball on Tuesday 15 th June at Gibson Hall, kindly sponsored by Harbour Litigation Funding Ltd and supported by Clyde & Co LLP and Mayer Brown LLP.
Nearly 60 nominations were received across the six categories and the winners were judged by an independent panel consisting of: Des Hudson, Chief Executive of the Law Society, Rabinder Singh QC, barrister at Matrix Chambers and Edward Fennell, journalist and columnist for the Times. Edward Fennell also presented the awards together with Rebecca Hilsenrath, Chief Executive of LawWorks. Competition was very tight, and we had some very close winners! See here for the full list.
The New Government and the Third Sector
Article kindly contributed by LawWorks Choices volunteer lawyer Jonathan Rubin
On 20 May 2010, the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government released a 30-page programme, documenting policy proposals for the next five years. Of particular interest to the third sector will be the recommendations relating to running of public services. As the government seeks to reduce their overall expenditure, the provision of certain public services, including care and education, could be devolved to charities, social enterprises and co-operatives. This would provide third sector organisations the opportunity to increase their prominence within local communities, which in turn could provide greater fundraising opportunities. In addition, such organisations could receive further government assistance with respect to resources necessary for the provision of such public services. However, such assistance could come at the expense of greater regulations imposed by the government in relation to the day-to-day running of third sector organisations. Further, direct government funding could potentially be granted disproportionately in favour of those organisations that provide specific public services. Despite this, the programme outlined in the coalition agreement, should provide a great opportunity for third sector organisations to grow, and for the sector as a whole to expand.
Opportunity versus Costs
Also of consideration should be the effects of the pervading mantra of the new government, namely spending cuts and deficit reduction. In their speech of 24 May, chancellor George Osborne, and former Treasury Secretary, David Laws outlined £6.2 billion of cuts, affecting all government departments. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has speculated, considering historical parliamentary expenditure in the third sector, that the third sector stands to lose £148 million, a decrease of 0.4% on the previous year. Whilst these cuts appear proportionally minimal, it should be noted that of the 38,000 registered voluntary organisations, 23,000 receive over half their income directly from government. Given that the department for Communities and Local Government has been hardest hit by the cuts, those 23,000 voluntary organisations could see their main source of funding slashed.
“Social Finance”
Nick Hurd, the newly appointed Minister for Civil Society, has signalled his intention to see accelerated growth in “social finance”. In particular, the coalition agreement refers to the Big Society Bank – made up of funds from dormant UK bank accounts – to provide an additional source of finance to the third sector. In addition, the coalition agreement also identifies policies to encourage charitable giving and philanthropy. Whilst not providing any further detail, this presumably will occur through revisions to the tax system. This would suggest that in order to meet any government-funding shortfall, third sector organisations may have to rely upon private sector funding.
Third sector organisations clearly have an opportunity to increase their prominence and play a vital role under the New Government. It is essential that in doing so, the New Government guarantees such organisations have a sustainable line of funding to ensure they continue to provide to those who need it most, and that the sector as a whole continues to grow.
Free answers to brief legal questions: LawWorks Initial Electronic Advice
Initial Electronic Advice is an automated, web-based system, which allows us to submit a short legal query and have this answered by a lawyer via email. Not for profit organisations and advice agencies can register online to submit questions for entry into the system.
The main legal areas we cover are: advertising, banking, building and construction, charity, clinical negligence, commercial, company, competition, construction, consumer, consumer credit, contract, corporate, costs, crime, debt, education, employment, energy, environment, EU, family, general litigation, health and safety, housing, immigration, insolvency, insurance, intellectual property, IT, landlord and tenant, mental health, mortgages, data protection, finance, insurance, pensions, personal injury, planning, property, public law, small claims, tax, telecoms, trust, welfare, wills and probate.
If you would like to register to submit questions, please see www.lawworksiea.org.uk, where you can also see more information on the service itself.
Refugee and Migrant Justice goes into administration
Kaye Wiggins, Third Sector, 15th June 2010
The legal aid charity Refugee and Migrant Justice has gone into administration.
A statement by the charity said that a growing proportion of its legal work was being paid on completion, once the Home Office or tribunals had made decisions on cases. This resulted in delays of up to two years before costs were reimbursed by the Legal Services Commission , the statement said.
Charities including Citizens Advice , Liberty , Barnardo's and Mind wrote to the home and justice secretaries earlier this month asking them to change the system so the charity would not be forced to close.
Briefings on using the Compact
VolResource, 6th May 2010
Compact Voice has two new briefings in its resources section:
Making Procurement Work For You
Righting Public Law Wrongs
Tax Guidance: Guide to tax implications of charity trading
VolResource, 3rd June 2010
The Charity Finance Directors' Group has produced a comprehensive guide on 'The Tax Implications of Charity Trading' which can be downloaded from their Good Practice publications page.
Updated statutory references in charity tax exemptions
There has been an update to HM Revenue and Customs 'Tax exemptions for charities' guidance, with revised statutory references for the tax exemptions relating to charitable trusts and charitable companies.
Handling unexpected absence outside of employee control
VolResource, 22nd April 2010
The recent air travel disruption is the latest major incident leading to forced absences from work outside employer or employee control. Hopefully you already have policies and procedures for such a situation, but the advice from ACAS may still be of use.
Updated information on paternity rights
VolResource, 6th May 2010
There are additional paternity leave and pay entitlements for babies due on or after 3rd April 2011. See personnel professionals' body CIPD updated factsheet on maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay.
Charity Commission to issue guidance on Equality Act
Third Sector, 21st May 2010
The Charity Commission has agreed in principle to issue supplementary guidance for the voluntary sector on how to comply with new equality legislation.
Helen Carr, head of policy development and review at the commission, told commission trustees at the regulator's open board meeting in London yesterday that charities working with specific groups of beneficiaries might find it difficult to demonstrate their entitlement to be exempt from anti-discrimination laws introduced in the Equality Act.
The act, which passed through parliament in April, says a charity can restrict the type of beneficiaries it works with only if its governing document permits benefits only to people who share a "protected characteristic", such as ethnicity.
Challenge to 'fit and proper' test
VolResource, 13th May 2010
Charity sector specialist solicitors Bates Wells and Braithwaite are planning to challenge the need for HM Revenue and Customs to use the new 'fit and proper person' test when new trustees or senior managers are appointed by a charity. They says that the Charity Commission already provides adequate regulation and additional checks by HMRC would increase administrative costs.
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