Day: November 7, 2018

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Press release: Interim Managers appointed to Achiezer Association Limited and Achiezer

The Charity Commission has appointed joint Interim Managers to Achiezer Association Limited (registered charity number 255031) and Achiezer, (registered charity number 234038.

The appointment comes as part of the regulator’s class statutory inquiry into both charities, which began in June 2015. The charities are linked by common trustees and similar objects.

Due to continued concerns about the governance, administration and financial management, the Commission appointed Geoffrey Carton-Kelly and Jason Baker, of FRP Advisory LLP, as joint Interim Managers to both charities on 30 October 2018 under section 76(3)(g) of the Charities Act 2011.

The Interim Managers will take over the general management, administration and operation of both charities and their property, and discharge the functions and duties of the trustees to the exclusion of the current trustees.These are temporary appointments and will be reviewed on a regular basis in line with normal procedures.

The inquiry is examining the governance, administration and financial management of the charities. The full scope of the investigation is set out on GOV.UK.

Both charities were previously investigated by the Commission as part of a double defaulters class inquiry.

The inquiry continues and the Commission intends to publish a report setting out its findings and conclusions in due course.

Ends

Notes to editors

  1. The Charity Commission is the regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work see the about us page on GOV.UK.
  2. Search for charities on our check charity tool.
  3. The Interim Manager appointment is a temporary and protective power that will be reviewed at regular intervals. It will continue until the Commission makes a further Order for its variation or discharge.
  4. It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

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Link: Press release: Interim Managers appointed to Achiezer Association Limited and Achiezer
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Communities Secretary sets out vision for high streets as vibrant community hubs

The Communities Secretary, James Brokenshire will today (7 November 2018) set out his vision for tackling social problems linked to declining high streets – such as crime, unemployment and loneliness.

Speaking at the Locality Convention in Bristol the Communities Secretary will launch the government’s flagship Open Doors project, linking landlords with vacant retail units with community groups offering vital services to young and old.

Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP will say:

We need to be imaginative in tackling the social and economic challenges our communities face.

This includes seizing the enormous opportunity before us to transform our high streets into vibrant community hubs where people work, live and shop.

That is why I’m delighted to be launching the new Open Doors project that will see empty shops being opened up to community groups offering services to the most vulnerable in our communities.

Reflecting on the scale of the opportunity offered by converting empty retail units into homes and community hubs the Communities Secretary will point to new figures showing that there are currently over 27,000 premises lying vacant in England’s town centres.

If just a fraction of these vacant premises were turned into homes, thousands more people could have a roof over their head.

Research also shows that higher numbers of residents on our high streets can generate higher footfall and, in turn, higher demand for shops and services.

The Communities Secretary will also launch a new Community Roadshow, which will see him and his ministerial team travelling across the country to learn from and celebrate the work being done by community groups.

The first of the Roadshow visits will see the Communities Secretary visiting a winter shelter and a community-led housing project in Bristol.

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Link: Press release: Communities Secretary sets out vision for high streets as vibrant community hubs
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Better journeys ahead with groundbreaking contract awards

We’ve announced deals with 13 supply chain partners to collaborate regionally to carry out up to £8.7 billion of work on England’s motorways and major A roads.

The deals have been set up using a new industry-leading approach, the Routes to Market Regional Delivery Partnership, which incentivises companies to improve safety and journeys on our roads. It contains incentives for results which include:

  • shorter duration and more accurate management of roadworks to help drivers better plan their journeys and experience predictable journey times
  • buying more efficiently and buying locally – using the capability of a region to benefit the region
  • encouraging innovation, for example lighting and signs designed to need less maintenance, reducing disruption and improving road worker safety
  • reduced road noise and increased environmental benefits

Our Chief Executive Jim O’Sullivan said:

Routes to Market represents a fundamental change in the way we deliver road projects. It will be performance rather than price based, focusing on building the right projects with the best outcomes for road users and the communities we serve.

It demands a major step up in our supply chain to embrace innovation and team work, and in their ability to deliver value.

The 13 companies – known as Delivery Integration Partners – will be part of the Regional Delivery Partnership working with us. They will develop, design and construct highway projects across England from 2019 through to 2024.

Until now, we’ve procured work on a scheme by scheme basis. This new approach provides a secure pipeline of work, instilling confidence to invest in skills and employment. Driving value for money, innovation and delivery certainty, the Regional Delivery Partnership model has been designed to start a long overdue transformation within the infrastructure construction sector.

The value of work allocated across the 13 companies is as follows – the values mentioned are shared between suppliers on the lot over a six-year period (includes RIS1 budget and RIS2 estimate):

Lot 1 – South West and Midlands – £200m – two partners: Geoffrey Osborne Ltd; and Griffiths / Farrans Joint Venture (Alun Griffiths (Construction) Ltd and Northstone (NI) Limited trading as Farrans Construction)

Lot 2 – South East and East – £350m – two partners: John Graham Construction Ltd; and Volker Fitzpatrick Ltd

Lot 3 – North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humber – £200m – two partners: Amey Sir Robert McAlpine Joint Venture (Amey OW Ltd and Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd); and North Midland Construction Plc

Lot 4 – South West – £800m – two partners: Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd; and Taylor Woodrow

Lot 5 – Midlands – £1,250m – two partners: BAM Nuttall Ltd; and Skanska Construction UK Ltd

Lot 6 – South East – £1,100m – two partners: BAM Nuttall Ltd; and Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd

Lot 7 – East – £2,800m – three partners: Costain Ltd; Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd; and Skanska Construction UK Ltd

Lot 8 – North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humber – £2,000m – three partners: Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd; Costain Ltd; and Kier Highways Ltd

The work is arranged into 18 packages of schemes, awarded to Delivery Integration Partners in bands of up to £100m (lots 1 to 3) and over £100m (lots 4 to 8).

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Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

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Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Link: Press release: Better journeys ahead with groundbreaking contract awards
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Government increases funding for rape and sexual abuse victims

  • rape support centres to benefit from greater financial security and stability
  • five Police and Crime Commissioners to be given full control of devolved funding
  • funding for victim support services has doubled since 2012/13 to £96 million

Specialist rape and sexual abuse support services will receive a £800,000 (10%) boost to help more victims across England and Wales under government plans announced today (Wednesday 7 November 2018).

Over 150,000 sexual offences were recorded by police last year with 1 in 5 women having experienced some type of sexual assault in their lifetime and a 200 per cent increase in the number of men and boys accessing support*.

The additional funding – now totalling £24 million over the next 3 years – will go towards vital services providing advice, support and counselling to help victims cope with and, as far as possible, recover from these devastating crimes. It will also increase the resilience of the wider sector supporting vulnerable individuals to provide timely, wrap-around support.

In addition, dedicated support organisations will now benefit from longer-term funding with government extending the funding period from 1 to 3 years. Ministers have acted to provide support organisations with greater stability and security to ensure they can focus on delivering their essential services.

Justice Minister Edward Argar said:

Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes, so I am encouraged that more victims are coming forward to get the support they need.

By providing additional and longer-term funding we are ensuring that victims can access these vital practical and emotional services, so that fewer are left to suffer in silence.

Today’s announcement builds on the government’s commitment to further devolve justice powers. Five Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) (Greater London, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hampshire and Nottinghamshire) are to be given full commissioning responsibilities for sexual violence and abuse services as government recognises the importance of identifying local need when providing support.

In 2018/19 the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) allocated around £7.2 million towards independent, specialist support to female and male victims of sexual violence, including victims of child sexual abuse. This will now increase to £8 million annually over the next three years and is part of £96 million funding towards victim support services which has doubled since 2012/13.

Faye Maxted OBE, Chief executive of the Survivors Trust, said:

The announcement of this funding is very welcome and the fact that it will be awarded for a three-year period will allow specialist agencies to plan ahead and feel some security in offering support for victims and survivors. Rape and sexual abuse can have a devastating impact on someone’s life, affecting their health and wellbeing for years and impacting on their ability to live a fulfilling and happy life. Security and safety are such vital elements in recovery for victims and survivors and this means that specialist support agencies themselves need to be sure the services they offer are well supported too.

Duncan Craig, CEO of Survivors Manchester & Co-Founder of Male Survivors Partnership, and survivors of childhood sexual abuse:

The government’s announcement of the investment it’s making in tackling rape and sexual abuse is more than welcome. Increasing the amount of money available for organisations to access and extending the grants to three years gives a clear message that the Minister is taking our needs as survivors seriously. Organisations like mine, those members of networks such as Male Survivors Partnership or Rape Crisis England and Wales are struggling to meet the increasing demand on our services from people who often, are speaking out for the first time. This announcement feels like help is on its way and gives me hope that we will be able to not only continue to provide the support services to men and women, boys and girls who have been sexually violated, but in doing so give people hope that healing is possible.

Katie Russell at Rape Crisis England & Wales said:

Demand for independent, specialist sexual violence and abuse support services is at unprecedented levels and continues to rise each year.

In 2017-18, our member Rape Crisis Centres provided over 650,000 sessions of specialist support, counselling and advocacy to more than 78,000 victims and survivors of child sexual abuse, rape and all forms of sexual violence.

This is the only dedicated, central government funding for sexual violence and abuse organisations and recognises the significant need for these vital services, and the considerable expertise and experience of our specialist sector.

Three-year core grants also provide some much-needed stability for centres like ours, enabling them to focus more energy on service delivery and further development, and less on survival.

APCC Victims Lead, Dame Vera Baird QC said:

I welcome the 10% increase, and it is particularly positive that funding for rape support will now be for a three-year period. Longer-term funding will provide these vital organisations with the stability they require, and free them from the burden of making fresh bids every year, so they can devote their time and resources on better serving victims.

Notes to editors

  • A grant funding competition will allow providers to compete for grant funding for 3 years, rather than the one-year grants previously awarded, providing greater long-term security.
  • MOJ funding for victim support services has almost doubled since 2012/13 (by increasing revenue raised from offenders). This year, we plan to spend about £96 million on these services.
  • MOJ provides a contribution to 97 rape support services across England and Wales and the level of grant funding varies. In 2018/19 we allocated around £7.2 million to these centres to provide independent, specialist support to female and male victims of sexual violence, including victims of child sexual abuse. This will now increase to £8 million annually.
  • In 2018/19 we allocated Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) around £68 million funding to locally commission emotional and practical support services for victims of crime as they are best placed to respond to local need.
  • In 2017/18 PCCs reported spending £8.40 million from the MOJ grant in supporting victims of sexual violence and abuse and £4.86m supporting victims of child sexual abuse (recent and non-recent)
  • *The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 20% of women and 4% of men have experienced some type of sexual assault since the age of 16, equivalent to an estimated 3.4 million female victims and 631,000 male victims.

Link: Press release: Government increases funding for rape and sexual abuse victims
Source: Gov Press Releases