So far as charities are concerned, there’s not a lot to report on this time round. The Charity Commission is taking increased steps to publicise more of its investigations into charities and thoughts and advice on different areas of its work. General feedback on this is that, whilst there is lots of information about particular steps taken with regard to particular charities, improvements could be made to it so as to more clearly state the wider learning points for charities, and so to maximise their practical application
In the world of social enterprise, CICs celebrate their 10th birthday in June this year. The CIC Regulator and the CIC Association are planning a number of events around the country, so keep your eyes peeled for the party invitations…
Lord Young was asked to review the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and his report was published in mid-February. The recommendations are essentially:
- Not to make any formal changes to the legislation, except to keep the current procurement
thresholds rather than for them to be automatically increased to the new OJEU threshold of
€750,000 - To develop an appropriate measurement system for social value
- To raise awareness of the Act in Central Government departments, the NHS, and with private
sector businesses.
Some in the sector were hoping that the Act might be given more ‘teeth’ and that it would be extended to goods and works (it currently only applies to services), and so were left a little disappointed by the outcome. However, it will be interesting to see if Government formally takes up the recommendations, so watch this space.
Finally, in our last issue we covered social investment tax relief. In late January this year, UBS and Resonance announced the creation of what is believed to be the first SITR fund. It is due to launch in Bristol later this year and will be aimed at supporting social enterprises tackling issues of inner city poverty.
Click here to read our newsbrief in full.
Continue reading other articles: Charities and Social enterprise round up, Top tips for collaborations, Client spotlight – following the journey of Balance CIC, Competition Law – what do you need to know? Minimum wage – counting the cost for charities and Promoting legacies – how effective is your website?