Category Archives: Voluntary sector

Public’s understanding of paedophiles has not improved, says charity boss

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Rev Harry Nigh, who set up Circles in 1994 to support sex offenders, says it is easy for politicians to say ‘lock them up’

Public understanding of paedophiles has not improved over the past 30 years, according to the founder of the pioneering charity Circles, which offers support to some of society’s most reviled offenders.

While the Rev Harry Nigh says child protection must always be paramount, he stresses the importance of breaking the isolation and shame that often leads people who commit child sexual abuse to reoffend, arguing that “anything that drives people underground even further endangers the community itself”.

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UK charity declares ‘refugee homelessness emergency’ as numbers hit record high

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Naccom report says gaps in state support have led to more than 1,940 refugees having no accommodation

Homelessness among refugees has doubled in the last year to reach record levels as charities hand out tents and sleeping bags to those forced to live on the streets for the first time, according to research.

The No Accommodation Network (Naccom), an umbrella organisation for 140 frontline organisations working with asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants across the UK, has collated the data and shared it with the Guardian.

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UK disability charities say NICs rise will cause ‘life-changing’ cuts

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Groups providing vital services say impact of tax and minimum wage rises will lead to cutbacks

Charities have warned of “life-changing consequences” for a million vulnerable children and adults as a result of cuts to state-funded disability services driven by tax changes and wage rises announced in the budget.

The Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG), which represents 100 charities in England, said Rachel Reeves’s decision to raise employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) had been “ill thought through” and would put many local charity services at risk.

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Services for most-vulnerable people at risk after NICs rise, charities say

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Care providers, GPs and pharmacists warn increased costs will cause cuts and job losses

Services that support some of England’s most vulnerable people have warned that tax increases in the budget will lead to cuts and closures that could devastate the charity sector.

Although the NHS and councils are protected from the impact of the rise in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) announced in Wednesday’s budget, charities that provide services say the increase means they will face “existential” financial pressures.

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‘Difficult from start to finish’: how Naomi Campbell’s fashion charity unravelled

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Once hailed as a philanthropic marvel, Fashion for Relief ran up hefty expenses and left charity partners angry

Five years ago, a glitzy charity fundraising gala in the British Museum organised by the model Naomi Campbell was widely accepted to be a triumph. It was the toast of London fashion week and a powerful showcase for Campbell’s philanthropic mission to raise money for young people in poverty.

Awash with celebrities (the actors Naomie Harris and Pierce Brosnan, the rapper Skepta and the model Alexa Chung) and wealthy paying guests, it combined a catwalk show with a charity auction of art (drawings by Matisse, Dalí and Tracey Emin, a signed Warhol print), jewellery and luxury watches.

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Fixer for donations to king’s charities banned from trustee and director roles

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Watchdog report strongly criticises Michael Wynne-Parker, who was middleman for more than £500,000 of donations

A society fixer who acted as a middleman for more than £500,000 of donations to King Charles’s charities from a wealthy Russian banker has been disqualified from running a charity after a highly critical watchdog inquiry report.

The Charity Commission said the conduct of Michael Wynne-Parker, revealed during its investigation into the Mahfouz Foundation charity, showed him to be unfit to be a charity trustee or director and banned him for 12 years.

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Actors win apology from English charity watchdog in row over board ‘coup’

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Charity Commission says lessons have been learned after dispute involving Penelope Keith, Siân Phillips and ABF

The actors Dame Penelope Keith and Dame Siân Phillips have won a hard-fought apology from England’s charity watchdog after it admitted to blunders in its handling of a case involving a £40m actors’ hardship fund.

The pair, who with others were removed from the board of the Actors’ Benevolent Fund (ABF) two years ago in what they argued was an unlawful coup by rival trustees, had accused the Charity Commission of mismanaging its stewardship of the charity.

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‘A colonial mindset’: why global aid agencies need to get out of the way

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With the world’s humanitarian system in crisis, many NGOs now recognise that local charities can deliver much more at far less cost

Before civil war engulfed her Ethiopian home region of Tigray in 2020, Tsega Girma was a prosperous trader who sold stationery and other goods. But when hungry children displaced by the conflict started appearing in the streets, she sold everything and used the proceeds to buy them food.

After that money dried up, Tsega appealed to Tigray’s diaspora for donations. At the height of the war, her Emahoy Tsega Girma Charity Foundation provided meals to 24,000 children a day.

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Orkney shop owner raises £3,000 for charity after Easter egg error

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Dan Dafydd, who accidentally ordered 80 cases of eggs, aims to raise £20,000 for the RNLI by Easter Sunday

For a small shop owner on a small island as far as mistakes go, Dan Dafydd’s was a pretty big one leaving him with quite a dilemma: how do you get rid of 80 cases of Easter eggs when you meant to order only 80 eggs?

For Dafydd, the owner of Sinclair General Stores on Sanday, one of the Orkney islands (population approximately 500), the 720 eggs were enough to feed everyone almost twice over. A few too many even for those with a sweet tooth.

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British public donated record £13.9bn to charity in 2023

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Average monthly donations rose by nearly 40% to £65, with poorest areas among the most generous

The British public donated a record £13.9bn to charity in 2023, with people in some of the country’s least affluent areas among the most generous, a report reveals.

The total marks a 9% increase on the 2022 figure – which stood at £12.7bn – as average monthly donations increased by nearly 40% to reach £65.

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Call for Covid memorial wall in London to become permanent monument

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People bereaved by Covid want government recognition and protection for South Bank place of remembrance

Volunteers at the Covid memorial wall are urging ministers to make the monument permanent as Britain marks its first national day of reflection after the pandemic.

The wall runs between Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Bridge on South Bank in London and is looked after by a group of volunteers, who rely on public donations to maintain it.

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Spa pool at Captain Tom’s daughter’s home removed as ‘unauthorised building’

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Family were given permission for L-shaped building in 2021, but instead built a large, C-shaped structure

The spa pool at the home of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has been lifted out by crane as the unauthorised complex was demolished. The tub was hoisted up through the open top of the block, whose roof had been removed by workers earlier in the week.

Hannah Ingram-Moore, 53, and her husband, Colin, 66, lost an appeal against an order to remove the Captain Tom Foundation building in the grounds of their property after a hearing in October.

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Charity with Prince Harry as director investigating rape and torture claims

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African Parks examines alleged atrocities against Indigenous people by its Congo Republic guards after ‘decade of alerts’ from Survival International

A wildlife charity that has the Duke of Sussex as a board member is investigating allegations of rape and torture by its guards in the Republic of the Congo.

African Parks, which manages 22 national parks and protected areas across 12 countries, said the investigation was its “highest priority” and encouraged anyone with knowledge of any abuse to contact it.

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Starmer to defend RNLI and National Trust from ‘desperate’ Tory culture war

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Labour leader’s speech will be his most outspoken response to ‘woke’ politics criticisms by Conservatives

Keir Starmer will defend organisations such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the National Trust on Monday, accusing the Conservatives of attacking them to stoke a “desperate” culture war.

The Labour leader will mount a forceful defence of the institutions during a speech to a civil society summit on Monday in his most outspoken response to Conservative criticisms of “woke” politics.

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‘I need mum and dad here’: the charity helping young Afghan footballers reunite with relatives

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The Refugee Council is welcoming those who fled the Taliban and providing legal advice on resettlement in the UK

• Donate to our charity appeal here

Two years on from their arrival in South Yorkshire, young footballers Elaha Safdari, Najma Arifi and Narges Mayeli are still baffled by the array of regional accents in the UK. “I’m always like, ‘Pardon? Can you please repeat? What did you say?’” laughs Arifi, now 20.

This barrier is only a minor hurdle for the trio, who were forced to flee for their lives when the west pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

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Regulator vows crackdown on ‘squeamish’ charities rejecting donations

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Chair of Charity Commission says funds should not be rejected due to the views or preferences of donors

The head of England’s charity regulator has promised to crack down on “squeamish” charity boards who reject large cash donations from corporations or wealthy philanthropists on moral grounds.

Orlando Fraser, the chair of the Charity Commission, said the regulator may intervene where trustees have rejected or returned donations simply because their “personal worldviews or preferences” were incompatible with those of the donor.

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Revealed: plan to brand anyone ‘undermining’ UK as extremist

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Leaked documents spark furious backlash from groups who fear freedom of expression could be suppressed

Government officials have drawn up deeply controversial proposals to broaden the definition of extremism to include anyone who “undermines” the country’s institutions and its values, according to documents seen by the Observer.

The new definition, prepared by civil servants working for cabinet minister Michael Gove, is fiercely opposed by a cohort of officials who fear legitimate groups and individuals will be branded extremists.

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Charities can campaign on ‘issues that provoke strong emotions’ – watchdog

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Exclusive: In wake of RSPB tweet controversy, Charity Commission says voluntary sector entitled to engage in political activity

Charities should not hold back from engaging in political activity and on emotive issues on social media such as race or immigration, even where they risk triggering controversy, the voluntary sector watchdog has said.

Guidance to be issued by the Charity Commission this week makes it clear charities are entitled to campaign robustly online in support of their mission and beneficiaries. To do so they must have the backing of their trustee boards, keep within the law, and act with “respect and tolerance.”

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Charities watchdog criticises Care4Calais for administrative misconduct

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Inquiry finds, however, that charity acted lawfully in challenging government’s asylum policy through courts

Care4Calais, a refugee charity providing humanitarian aid to thousands of migrants living in appalling conditions in northern France, has been criticised by the charities watchdog over what it called administrative misconduct.

The three-year Charity Commission inquiry criticised the former chief executive and board of the charity and highlighted examples of lax internal financial controls, governance failings, poor record keeping and complaints handling.

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Let private and third sectors cut NHS waiting lists, says Steve Barclay

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Health secretary says ‘every available resource’ must be used to help patients access diagnosis and treatment faster

More private and third sector providers should be used by the NHS to help cut post-Covid waiting lists, Steve Barclay, the health secretary, will say after a review of capacity in the health service.

Barclay will draw on the work of his “elective recovery taskforce” – a group convened by ministers to look at how to bring down waiting times.

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