A few recent stories highlight the impact of the wider pensions crisis on the charity sector. The combined pensions deficit of the 20 largest charities is around £720m, according to a study by Alexander Forbes. And last week, two pensions specialists who advised charities in the Scottish Voluntary Sector Pensions Scheme – a multi-employer scheme… Read more »
Posts By: David Ainsworth
Tories hint at tax breaks for social investment
In the run-up to the election there have been lots of promises from political parties about what they will do to improve the lot of social enterprises. This week Nick Hurd, shadow charities minister, suggested the Conservatives were thinking of using tax breaks to boost the social investment market. If this is the case, it… Read more »
Cancer Research UK’s proposal on Gift Aid reform is by no means perfect
It is good to see Cancer Research UK taking the lead on Gift Aid reform by supporting a 30p composite rate. It’s an idea that means charities would receive 30p in Gift Aid on every £1 given by a taxpayer, and higher-rate taxpayers would lose the right to claim any personal tax relief on donations…. Read more »
Charities should be more than an afterthought when politicians talk tax
Among the ideas in the Charity Finance Directors’ Group’s election manifesto is one for establishing a review panel to scrutinise new legislation at an early stage and find out whether it will throw a giant spanner into the works of the charity sector. The benefit of this proposal is obvious: every time the Government introduced… Read more »
Let more public bodies join British Waterways in the voluntary sector
Last week, British Waterways said it wanted to leave the embrace of Government, and set up as a charity. Inspired by the National Trust, it said it could stand better on its own two feet. This started me wondering. How many quangos would be better off if they followed British Waterways’ example, and set up… Read more »
Gift Aid reform: here’s one reason why progress is slow
What is the charity sector trying to get out of Gift Aid reform? Many systems have been proposed, but none have gained much traction with either the Government or the sector. Should we have an amended opt-in system or an opt-out system? What about an accounts-based system? Or a composite-rate system? Or a system whereby… Read more »
Consolidating NHS charity accounts into those of trusts is a terrible idea
I have spent a lot of time recently listening to charity finance specialists talk about the concept of consolidating the accounts of NHS charities into those of NHS trusts, and they’re pretty much united in describing it as one of the worst ideas they’ve ever heard. The first thing to say about this debate is… Read more »
Sole trustee arrangements: a recipe for trouble
Public bodies that are sole trustees of charities have cropped up many times in Third Sector and on Thirdsector.co.uk in the past few months. Most recently, the Charity Commission and Department of Health have continued a year-long argument over NHS charities controlled by the hospitals and primary care trusts they are attached to. The answer,… Read more »