NCVO’s manifesto for the next government
NCVO has published its manifesto for the next government titled A bigger role in building our future – our vision for charities and volunteering. We call for greater political and financial investment and more recognition of charities’ role in shaping our country’s future. This includes a section titled: An economy that is fair for everyone where we urge the next government to:
- ensure the UK shared prosperity fund delivers a comparable level of investment in disadvantaged communities that European funding currently provides
- establish a community wealth fund using money from dormant assets to create a long-term endowment for deprived communities that have not benefited from economic prosperity
- increase local government funding to help reduce the significant financial strain that many public services are facing
- work with charities to implement the recommendations of the independent Charity Tax Commission
- create a resilient communities fund, set up specifically for charities working with and supporting local communities, in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
You can read the manifesto in full and also check out Elizabeth’s blog post outlining the main themes.
Charity finance manifesto
We’ve also collaborated with other voluntary sector bodies to produce an election manifesto proposing specific funding and finance policies needed to provide the right foundations for civil society to thrive.
Today we are launching our charity finance manifesto. We have collaborated with @NCVO @ACEVO @NAVCA @LocalTrust @IoFtweets @Childrenengland @LBFEW @sccoalition to produce objectives to provide the right foundations for civil society to thrive: https://t.co/yQeytsgBpv pic.twitter.com/PSULDhhgHR
— CharityFinanceGroup (@CFGtweets) November 14, 2019
Update on the ‘UK Shared Prosperity Fund’
The conservative party have provided some long-awaited clarity on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) – which will replace EU funding post-Brexit – in their election manifesto. At a minimum it will match the size of EU Structural Funds in each nation. £500m of this is earmarked for disadvantaged people to help build the ‘skills they need to make a success of life’.
More information on the size of the UKSPF and an explicit mention of disadvantaged people is welcome, but what isn’t clear is what time period the £500m figure would be spread over. ESF funding is currently around £500m a year so we’ll be pushing for its replacement to provide at least the same level of support that disadvantaged communities would’ve received.
Sector engagement with local enterprise partnerships (LEPs)
Its widely predicted that local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) will play a key role in administering the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) which will replace EU funding post-Brexit. To do this effectively LEPs will need to be engaging with charities and the communities they represent when determining local economic skills, job creation and other priorities within their area. If you have any thoughts to share on your organisation’s engagement – or lack of – with your local LEP, please get in touch.
Party manifestos finance and tax proposals
The major political parties have now published their election manifestos and Charity Tax Group have produced a useful list of all the finance and tax proposals that have been made. The list will continue to be updated in the run-up to the election.
Safeguarding for fundraisers
In partnership with the Institute of Fundraising, we’ve published guidance on Safeguarding for fundraising managers. The guidance includes the following two sets of guidance and a handy checklist to make sure the most important aspects have been covered.
- People in need of safeguarding when fundraising explains who’s most at risk when you’re fundraising.
- Types of fundraising and associated risks focuses on the particular risks that you need to consider depending on the area of fundraising you work in.
Reforming the SORP
The SORP Committee is looking for engagement partners to help reform the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (the SORP). Partners can be individuals or organisations which have an interest in financial reporting in the sector. The closing date for applications is 31 January 2020.
Fundraising Regulator
Meanwhile, the Fundraising Regulatory has published a list of charities that have not logged onto the Fundraising Preference Service charity portal to access requests from the public to stop communication.
Research into the impact of VAT reliefs
Charity Tax Group (CTG) has commissioned a national VAT research survey by London Economic that’ll explore the impact of the VAT system on the contribution charities are able to make on a sector by sector basis. As the Charity Tax Commission recently noted, there are no comprehensive figures for the amount of VAT relief charities claim. This makes it difficult to evaluate effectively the impact of changes to the VAT system as it applies to charities.
If you would like to be considered for the survey, contact CTG at info@charitytaxgroup.org.uk.
Paul joined NCVO over seven years ago after working for a leading public affairs agency. Since then he’s led our policy work on a variety of issues, including welfare-to-work reforms, volunteering, the Compact, public service commissioning and procurement regulations. He now leads our work on funding and finance with a particular focus on charity tax relief and safeguarding EU funding post-Brexit. 
