2,022 Baton bearers are needed, each with inspiring stores, to take on the special experience of carrying the Queen’s Baton through England in summer 2022.  

Individuals from England that meet one or more of the following criteria can be nominated:

• Always willing to take on a challenge and has a unique and inspiring story;
• Has made a meaningful contribution to sport, education, the arts, culture, or charity;
• Is a figure of inspiration that positively challenges others to achieve their best;
• Has taken on a challenge or cause and made a positive impact within their community.

The Queen’s Baton Relay will travel to every region in England, before arriving at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on 28 July 2022.

To nominate, simply explain how your nominee is making a difference in their community and why they deserve to take on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Further details and the nomination process can be found here.

Research from Power to Change and the Cares Family, found that 71% of people in the UK felt they lacked control over the important decisions that affect their neighbourhood and local community.

They feel a new approach is needed that puts power and control in the hands of our communities. They are supporting We’re Right Here, the campaign for community power.

Led by community leaders and backed by national organisations like Power to Change, they are calling for Parliament to pass a Community Power Act.

This legislation would fundamentally change where power lies in our country by :

• Giving communities a legal right to self-determination so decisions about local services and spaces are made at the most local level possible, with the participation of local people.
• Bringing communities and councils together to form Community Covenants that are defined by local people and reflect the dynamics of the local area, accessing a range of new powers and resources across local economic development, service provision, community assets, planning and housing.
• Creating an independent Community Power Commissioner who will hold the government to account on its decentralisation commitments.

Details about the campaign and how to get involved, such as signing their letter to Michael Gove, or sharing your story of community power can be found here.    

The Insolvency Service has been granted new powers to tackle unfit directors who dissolve companies to avoid paying their liabilities.

The new legislation extends the Insolvency Service’s powers, on behalf of the Business Secretary, to investigate and disqualify company directors who abuse the company dissolution process.

The Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act will also help tackle directors dissolving companies to avoid repaying Government backed loans put in place to support businesses during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The press release about this new legislation, which received royal assent on 15 December 2021, can be accessed here.

The consultation will close on Sunday 13 March 2022

Following consultation this summer on a new draft Leicester Transport Plan (2021-2036) and initial thinking for a Workplace Parking Levy (WPL), Leicester City Council has a 12 week formal consultation on proposals for the introduction of a WPL for Leicester.

The WPL is designed to encourage people who travel into the city regularly for work to use alternatives to cars for their daily commute, while helping fund the improvements needed to ensure the city’s public transport, cycling and walking networks provide good alternatives to car travel.

The WPL would apply citywide and businesses with more than 10 liable spaces would pay £550 per space per year for a licence to provide car parking for their employees.

The scheme would require Government approval, after which it could start in 2023.

To view the consultation documents and take part in the online consultation, please view: https://consultations.leicester.gov.uk

If you would like to discuss the WPL proposals for Leicester, a virtual meeting can be arranged. Please contact: transport.strategy@leicester.gov.uk 

East Midlands Chamber is leading one of eight UK LSIP pilots funded by the Department for Education with the aim to support educators, and in particular FE colleges, to align the courses they offer to local employers’ needs.

For the purpose of this pilot they are seeking businesses in the following sectors to participate:

• Logistics
• Manufacturing
• Sport, physical activity and human health

The latter, of which, the VCSE is also an employer.

You can find out more about participating in the pilot here.

New research commissioned by the Charity Tax Group [CTG] and undertaken by London Economics shows that VAT continues to place a significant burden on UK charities, with irrecoverable VAT now costing charities £1.8bn a year.

To tackle the increasing VAT burden, CTG is calling on the Government to introduce a new special charity VAT rate on purchases, to complement existing reduced and zero rates and the social exemptions. The proposal is simple, benefits all charities, and could be adjusted depending on economic circumstances.

To find out more click here.

Charity Commission publishes report on Richmond Psychosocial Foundation International (RPFI): wider learning for the sector.

In an official inquiry report, the regulator makes findings of misconduct and mismanagement against three of RPFI’s former trustees, concluding that they exposed residents to significant avoidable harm. RPFI ran Lancaster Lodge, a residential home in Richmond, South London, that provided care for adults recovering from mental health issues and adolescents with complex emotional needs. In May 2016, a resident of the home, Sophie Bennett, took her own life.

The trustees oversaw abrupt changes at Lancaster Lodge during 2016, which included replacing experienced, qualified staff with unqualified staff, and removing residents’ access to external therapies. These changes were chaotic and resulted in a deterioration in care for residents.

In terms of learning for the wider sector the charity commission reminds us that :

Protecting people and safeguarding responsibilities should be a governance priority for all charities. As part of fulfilling their trustee duties, trustees must take reasonable steps to protect people who come into contact with their charity from harm. Every trustee should have clear oversight of how safeguarding and protecting people from harm are managed within their charity. This involves not only ensuring adequate policies and procedures exist but also actively taking steps to ensure they are implemented and monitored in practice.

Trustees must be able to demonstrate that policies, procedures and practice are checked and challenged to ensure that they are fit for purpose. Including staying aware of current affairs, trends and themes and how these can influence your policies and practices. And updating policies and procedures to reflect changes to statutory requirements, good practice and current issues.

If you change the way you work, such as working in a new area or in a different way, charities should:

• Review current policies and make sure they are suitable
• Consider whether extra policies are needed to cover any new situations or risks
• Record these discussions and decisions as part of risk management procedures

For further help about safeguarding and trustee duties see the Commission’s Strategy for dealing with safeguarding issues in charities and Safeguarding and protecting people for charities and trustees, which can be accessed here.

The wider learning also includes reminders about governance, decision making, and financial controls.

The press release can be accessed here.

The full report is where you can find the issues for the wider sector section here.

Neighbourhood planning is a way for communities to help decide the future of the places where they live and work. It is a way for communities to help decide the future of the places where they live and work.

Communities can use a neighbourhood plan to choose where they want new homes, shops and offices to be built, have their say on what those new buildings should look like, and grant planning permission for the new buildings they want to see go ahead

More than 30 people took part in a recent webinar to discuss the proposals to create a neighbourhood plan for the town of Market Harborough.

You can find out more and how to get involved here.

Government Updates this month:

Covid 19: Various government guidance documents have been updated: 

• New guidance Safeguarding for charities and trustees – Read more
• Calls for everyone to take up their flu vaccine Read more
• People urged to get booster as UK approaches 20m top-up jabs – Read more
• COVID-19 during pregnancy, urging pregnant women to get vaccinated – Read more
• Self isolation for first responders regarding changes & Omicron variant – Read more

Procurement and commissioning:

• In support of Small Business Saturday, the government has published a ‘Selling To Government Guide’ which will give small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) essential information on how to bid for and win government contracts.
• These updates show the issues raised and resolution of cases investigated under the Public Procurement Review Service and may provide clarity on when it is appropriate for VCSE organisations to utilise this service. Read more

Policy:

• People at the Heart of Care: adult social care reform white paper. This white paper sets out a 10-year vision for adult social care and provides information on funded proposals that government will implement over the next 3 years. Read more
• The Minister for Care, Gillian Keegan, wrote about the new adult social care reform white paper for the Daily Telegraph on Thursday 2 December 2021. Read more
• The government’s Build Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care policy paper has been updated within the Adult social care charging reform section. Read more
• The policy paper adult social care: coronavirus (COVID-19) winter plan 2021 to 2022 sets out the government’s ambitions for the sector and the challenges facing adult social care this winter. Read more

Consultations:

The government’s response to the public consultation on making vaccination a condition of deployment in health and wider social care sector has been published. Read more