Author: Pulse Assent

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has today (27 September 2018) published the first statutory review of the Local Government Pension Scheme under section 13 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 covering the period to 2016.

The department is required to report on the Scheme every 3 years.

The department appointed the Government Actuary (GAD) to conduct the review of 91 individual funds which make up the Local Government Pension Scheme. Each fund was assessed in terms of its compliance, consistency, solvency and long term cost efficiency.

The Government Actuary has reported that in aggregate the Local Government Pension Scheme is in a strong financial position and funds have made significant progress since the 2013 valuation based on the criteria.

The report highlights:

• total assets for the Local Government Pension Scheme have grown from £180 billion to £217 billion
• aggregate funding level has improved from 79% to 85%, due in part to better than expected returns on assets and strong returns have continued
• total employer contributions received were £6.9 billion per annum on average of which circa £2 billion per annum were deficit recovery payments

The Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and the Kenyan Education Minister Amina Mohamed have co-chaired the first meeting of the Platform for Girls’ Education.

The body is made up of influential global figures and aims to help secure 12 years of quality education for girls across the world.

Britain is already leading by example, announcing an additional £212 million in UK aid earlier this year to help one million vulnerable girls across the Commonwealth receive 12 years of quality education by 2030.

The Platform will work together during the UK’s 2018-2020 term as Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth. It will present a report before the next meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government to be hosted by Rwanda in 2020, showing progress made and what will need to be done to meet the 2030 goal.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

Educating girls properly will help make the world a better place, and is one of the best investments in our shared future.

When we educate girls we create stable, prosperous societies.

We must keep up the momentum to ensure that the world’s poorest girls get 12 years of quality education.

Kenyan Education Minister Amina Mohamed said:

Education is the single most powerful tool to fight poverty and extreme want.

Collectively, it is our generation’s most urgent priority. Global trends have shown that economies with high literacy, numeracy and basic education levels grow faster compared to those with low levels.
Inclusivity in education policy is also a vital enabler of resilient, progressive, fair and strong communities.

This Platform, which I am extremely proud to co-chair, gives us an opportunity to positively impact millions of out-of-school girls’ lives and to spur sustainable economic growth across the Commonwealth.

The Platform for Girls’ Education will galvanise political will to deliver on the commitments to girls’ education made at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April 2018.

Notes to editors

Members of the Platform for Girls’ Education are:

• The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP CO-CHAIR, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, United Kingdom
• Ambassador (Dr.) Amina Mohamed CO-CHAIR, Cabinet Secretary for Education, Kenya
• Ms. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General, UNESCO
• Ms. Henrietta Fore, Executive Director, UNICEF
• Ms. Julia Gillard, Chair of the Board of Directors, Global Partnership for Education
• Her Excellency, Paula Mae-Weeks (O.R.T.T.), President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
• His Excellency, Hon. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Public Enterprises, * Civil Service and Communications and the Minister responsible for Education, Heritage, Arts and Climate Change, Fiji
• Hon. Louise Mushikiwabo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Republic of Rwanda
• Hon. Shirley Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Republic of Ghana
• Ms. Isabelle Hudon, Canadian Ambassador to France and Monaco, Co-chair of the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council
• Ms. Baela Jamil, CEO, Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA), Pakistan
• Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, Founder, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, India, Nobel Peace Prize Winner 2014

Biographies of Platform for Girls’ members

Amb. (Dr.) Amina C. Mohamed, EGH., CAV

Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Education, Kenya
Amb. (Dr.) Amina C. Mohamed is the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Kenya. She was previously the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade from 2013 to 2018. She served as the United Nations Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of UNEP from 2011-2013.

Education

She graduated from the University of Kiev, Ukraine with a Bachelors Degree in Law and a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Law. She took the bar examinations at the Kenya School of Law and was admitted as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. She is a Chevening Alumnus with a Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations from the University of Oxford (1993).

Her dedicated service to the country and the international community has earned her various national and international awards including: the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (Government of Japan); Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity (Cav. O.S.S.I), Kenya’s highest National Award of Elder of the Golden Heart (EGH) and Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS).

She is fluent in Swahili, English and Russian, and has a working knowledge of French.

Career

Her career spans a wide range of posts and responsibilities within the country, continentally and internationally. She was Kenya’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs (2008-2011); President of the United Nations Conference on Transnational Crime, Vienna (2010-2011); Director for Europe and Commonwealth Affairs as well as Director for Diaspora Affairs; Chairperson of the Task Force Sub-Committee on strengthening and restructuring of the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Affairs (2006-2007); Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations and other International Organizations based in Geneva; Chairperson, Coordinator and Spokesperson for the African Group in the WTO, Human Rights Commission (2000-2006). She also served in the Executive Boards and Committees of the WHO, UNHCR, WIPO, ILO, UNCTAD and UNAIDS from 2001–2005 and as Kenya’s Legal Advisor in various Missions abroad, including the 6th Committee of the United Nations from 1990-2000.

Ms. Henrietta H. Fore

Executive Director, UNICEF

Biography
Henrietta Holsman Fore is the seventh Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). She has worked to champion economic development, education, health, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in a public service, private sector and non-profit leadership career that spans more than four decades.

Education

Ms. Fore has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Wellesley College and a Master of Science in Public Administration from the University of Northern Colorado.

Career

From 2007 to 2009, Ms. Fore served as the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Director of United States Foreign Assistance. The first woman to serve in these roles, she was responsible for managing $39.5 billion of U.S. foreign assistance annually, including support to peoples and countries recovering from disaster and building their futures economically, politically and socially.
Immediately prior to her appointment with UNICEF, Ms. Fore was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Holsman International, a manufacturing and investment company. She also served on the boards of a number of domestic and international public corporations, including as Global Co-Chair of the Asia Society, Chair of the Middle East Investment Initiative, and Co-Chair of WomenCorporateDirectors. She also served on the boards of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Aspen Institute, the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) and the Center for Global Development (CGD).

Ms. Julia Gillard

Chair of the Board of Directors, Global Partnership for Education

Biography

Julia Gillard joined the Global Partnership for Education as Chair of the Board of Directors in 2014 after a distinguished public service career in Australia.

Education

Ms. Gillard was educated at the University of Adelaide and University of Melbourne.

Career

Ms. Gillard served as Prime Minister of Australia between 2010 and 2013 and delivered nation-changing policies including reforming Australia’s education at every level from early childhood to university education, improving the provision and sustainability of health care, aged care and dental care and commencing Australia’s first ever national scheme to care for people with disabilities.

Ms. Gillard is the first woman ever to serve as Australia’s Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. In October 2012, Ms Gillard received worldwide attention for her speech in Parliament on the treatment of women in professional and public life.

Prior to becoming Prime Minister, Ms. Gillard was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and Social Inclusion. From 2003 to 2006, Ms. Gillard served as Shadow Minister for Health followed in 2006 by an appointment as Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations and Social Inclusion.

Following her passion for education, she was appointed a Commissioner at the International Commission for Global Education Opportunity in 2015 and became Patron of CAMFED, the Campaign for Female Education, in 2016. She is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution.

Ms. Baela Raza Jamil

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA)

Biography

Ms. Baela Raza Jamil is the CEO of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA), a centre for education and consciousness set up in 2000 with a vision for ‘comprehensive education reforms for individual and social transformation’. She is an activist at heart engaged in policy and practice.

Education

Baela was educated at the Convent of Jesus & Mary Lahore (Pakistan), Cobham Hall, Kent (UK), Rosemont College (USA), SOAS (UK), Georgia State University (USA), and Institute of Education – University of London (UK). She participated in professional programmes at the World Bank Institute, Harvard Graduate School of Education, ETS Princeton and the Salzburg Institute.

Career

Baela began her career in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) in a Magnet school in 1985; she established and ran the Hongkong Asia Trust (HAT), fundraising for education / emergency needs in five countries (1988-1991). From 1992-2000, Baela worked with UNICEF Pakistan, Urban Slums Upgradation in Faisalabad, the Task force on Education in Punjab, the Sindh Department of Education & Literacy as an International Community Adviser on Innovative Initiatives, and the Sindh Education Foundation.

From 2000-2004, Baela served as a Technical Advisor to the Federal Ministry of Education spearheading country and sector wide education reform action plans (2001-2004) with innovative programs on Early Childhood Education (ECE), Decentralization, Innovative Financing and the first ever guidelines on public private partnerships (PPPs).

In 2000, she established ITA, embarking on nationwide comprehensive education reforms and transformations reclaiming over 9000 years of civilization of Pakistan. Baela is a Trustee for the Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust (SNPET) working with disadvantaged communities for a unique, enabling 12 years of education.

Hon. Shirley Ayokor Botchwey

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ghana

Biography

Shirley Ayokor Botchwey is an MP and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Ghana.

Education

She holds an MA Public Communication from the University of Westminster and an MBA in Project Management from the University of Ghana.

Career

She previously held the following positions: Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Minister for Information, and Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry.

Between 2013 and 2017, she was a member of the ECOWAS parliament.
Before entering frontline politics, she ran a Marketing Communications Company, and was a consultant for the Ministry of Tourism. She has worked in various organizations such as Worldspace Ghana, Divestiture Implementation Committee, Glaxo Group Research and Hodge Recruitment in the area of administration.

Ms. Audrey Azoulay

Director General, UNESCO

Biography

The 39th session of UNESCO’s General Conference elected Audrey Azoulay as Director-General of UNESCO. She took office on 15 November 2017 for a four-year term.

Education

A graduate of the Ecole nationale d’administration (ENA) (1998-2000, “Averroès” graduation), she is also a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) (1996) and holds a Master of Business Administration (Lancaster University, Great Britain – 1993) obtained under the Erasmus European exchange programme.

In addition to her mother tongue, she is fluent in English and Spanish.

Career

She began her career as Head of the Public Broadcasting Sector Office at the Media Development Directorate, where she worked on the roll-out of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in France, the establishment of an international news channel and the reform of public broadcasting.
Having worked in the sector of culture since the start of her professional career, Audrey Azoulay has notably focused on the funding of French public broadcasting and on the reform and modernization of France’s film support system. She has also served the European Commission providing her expertise on issues concerning culture and communication.

In 2014, as an advisor on culture to the President of the French Republic, she notably initiated the development of a protection plan for heritage in danger, which she was able to implement in 2016 as Minister of Culture and Communication. She has also prioritized improving children’s access to culture with the launch of artistic and cultural education school programmes (“Création en cours”) and created innovative cultural outreach programmes for people in remote and vulnerable areas (“Microfolies”).

Mr. Kailash Satyarthi

Founder, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation

Biography

Kailash Satyarthi is a human rights activist from India who has been at the forefront of the global movement to end child slavery and exploitation since 1980.

Education

Kailash Satyarthi completed a degree in electrical engineering in Vidisha. He pursued post-graduate studies in high-voltage engineering and later began lecturing at a college in Bhopal.

Career

Kailash Satyarthi has been a tireless global advocate of children’s rights for four decades. He left a lucrative career as an Electrical Engineer and started ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’ (Save the Childhood Movement) to rescue children and their families from the shackles of slavery, paving the way for their reintegration into mainstream society.

In 1998, he conceived and led the largest civil society network for the most exploited children – the Global March against Child Labour. This march led to the adoption of ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. He is the architect of the Global Campaign for Education and is credited for establishing the first ever civil society/business coalition Rugmark (now known as Good Weave) – the first of its kind certification and social labelling mechanism for child labour free carpets.

In 2014, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. He later founded the Laureates and Leaders for Children platform, bringing together Nobel Laureates and Leaders from across the globe to interact with and work for the right of every child to have a free, safe and educated childhood.

In December 2016, he launched the 100 Million for 100 Million Campaign, a global intervention to mobilize 100 million youth for shaping a better and promising future for 100 million not so privileged children. He also founded Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation to work towards a child-friendly world where all children are free, safe, healthy and educated.

Her Excellency Paula-Mae Weekes, Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (O.R.T.T.)

President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Biography

Her Excellency (H.E.) Paula-Mae Weekes O.R.T.T., was appointed President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in January 2018.

Education

H.E. Weekes graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of the West Indies. She obtained her Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School in 1982 and was admitted to the practice of law in Trinidad and Tobago, later that year.

Career

H.E. Weekes joined the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions as State Counsel 1 in 1982, and later Senior State Counsel. She resigned in 1993 and entered private practice. She established her own Chambers after a brief period in the Chambers of a distinguished Senior Counsel.

In September 1996, she was appointed as a Puisne Judge, presiding in the trial courts for nine years, almost exclusively in the criminal jurisdiction and was elevated to the Court of Appeal of Trinidad and Tobago in January 2005. She retired from the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago after two decades of Service.

Upon her retirement, H.E. Weekes was invited to join the Appellate Bench of the Judiciary of the Turks and Caicos Islands. She became the first woman to serve in that capacity. She resigned in January 2018 ahead of her nomination for the Presidency. She was also Executive Director of PMW Criminal Justice Consultancy and Training, providing services geared towards the development of the criminal justice sector.
H.E. Weekes is a qualified judicial educator, having been made a Fellow of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute in 2000. She was the Course Director of Ethics Rights and Obligations of the Legal Profession at the Hugh Wooding Law School from 2010 to 2016.

From 1997 until her election as President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, she was the Chancellor of the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago.

Ambassador Isabelle Hudon

Canadian Ambassador to France and Monaco

Biography

Ms. Isabelle Hudon was appointed ambassador of Canada to France and Monaco by the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, on September 29th, 2017. In 2018, Ms. Hudon was also appointed co-chair of the Gender Equality Advisory Council for Canada’s G7 Presidency.

Education

She was enrolled in the corporate governance program at the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés (college of corporate directors), which is affiliated with Université Laval (Laval University), and completed the financial literacy program at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Ms Hudon was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Concordia University in November 2017.

Career

Prior to her appointment as Ambassador, Ms. Hudon was executive chair of Sun Life Financial Quebec, and senior vice-president of client solutions at Sun Life Financial Canada. From 2004 to 2008, she was president and chief executive officer of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. She then served as president of Marketel.

In March 2016, Ms. Hudon was awarded the Province of Quebec’s Medal of the National Assembly for her commitment to the cause of women’s ambition. She also received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work in raising awareness of the importance of culture in Canada. Ms. Hudon’s active dedication to the business community has seen her sit on the boards of a number of organizations.
She is the co-founder of L’Effet A, a movement that aims to help women achieve their professional ambitions.

Hon. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum

Attorney-General and the Minister for Economy, Public Enterprises, Civil Service, Communications and the Minister responsible for Education, Heritage and Arts and Climate Change, Fiji

Biography

Hon. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is the Fijian Attorney-General and the Minister for Economy, Public Enterprises, Civil Service, Communications and the minister responsible for Education, Heritage and Arts and Climate Change.

Education

Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He completed his Masters of Law at the University of Hong Kong. He also holds a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Wollongong in Australia. He attained his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, majoring in political science and development studies.

Career

Since joining the Fijian Government in 2007, Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum has initiated a comprehensive program to modernise Fiji’s laws in areas such as domestic violence, corporate governance and criminal code.

As Attorney-General, he oversaw the work to finalise a new Fijian Constitution that provides the legal foundation for a common and equal citizenry while protecting indigenous land ownership and rights. He is currently spearheading a reform of the Fijian civil service, to raise wages and salaries for civil servants and to engrain merit-based recruitment and advancement to raise the quality of Government services.

As the Minister for Education, he is currently leading the Fijian Government’s campaign to rebuild Fijian schools to a higher, cyclone-resilient standard following the devastation from Category 5 Cyclone Winston.
As the Minister for Communications, he has overseen a massive expansion in access to mobile services, extending coverage to 95 per cent of the country.

Hon. Louise Mushikiwabo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Rwanda

Biography

Hon. Louise Mushikiwabo is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Rwanda.

Education

Ms. Mushikiwabo holds Languages and Interpretation degrees from the University of Delaware, USA.

Career

Ms. Mushikiwabo previously served as the Minister of Information in the Government of Rwanda. She is an author and public relations executive. She lived in the United States for 22 years, then briefly in Tunisia, before joining the Rwandan Cabinet in March 2008.
She is the co-author of Rwanda Means the Universe (St. Martin’s Press, 2006) – an intergenerational socio-historical memoir; and she has contributed many articles to newspapers and online magazines. She has given numerous televisions and radio talks on Rwandan issues, and collaborated on many award-winning documentary films. She is also the recipient of the 2004 Outstanding Humanitarian Award from American University’s School of International Studies.

Key themes for the day included the UK regulatory environment now and post Brexit, the accelerated access pathway for breakthrough therapies and technologies, drug device combinations and the importance of real world evidence in regulatory decision-making.

Sir Michael Rawlins, Chairman of Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency delivered the keynote address on accelerating access to innovative therapies and implementing the AAR recommendations under the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy.

The report brings together highlights from the day including perspectives from senior experts from across the sector including: MHRA the UK regulator, the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), the Department of Health and Social Care, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Office for Life Sciences, notified bodies, the life science industry, research charities and patient organisations.

Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Dr Ian Hudson, said:

It is an important part of the agency remit to support innovation, improving access to new medicines and promoting public health gains. The record number of delegates at this annual conference reflects the value of continued dialogue between regulators and stakeholders in helping to achieve this objective and to drive innovation forward.

Commenting on the publication of the report, BIA CEO, Steve Bates, said:

As the UK moves closer to Brexit it is vital that industry, the regulators and wider stakeholders work together to ensure the best possible outcome for patients in the UK and Europe, and this event provides a useful forum to bring key players in the sector together. The fantastic line up of speakers and excellent attendance demonstrate the value of this forum.

The full report can be downloaded here and you can also find the full programme and slide presentations for this year on the conference website.

NAEH Ltd, Wise Auto Enrolment Ltd (Wise) and National Auto Enrolment Helpline Ltd were all wound up by the High Court in Manchester on 17 September 2018.

NAEH Ltd and Wise acted as introducers where they referred employers, required by law to enrol certain staff into a pension scheme, to a pension administrator in order to set up new schemes.

However, the Insolvency Service received complaints about the two companies and with assistance from The Pensions Regulator (TPR), investigators found that NAEH and Wise traded with a lack of commercial probity.

The two pension enrolment companies would make misleading and unfounded statements on their websites and to employers, as well as charge advance fees for services which they then completely failed to provide.

Investigators also found that the two companies operated with a lack of transparency. They would use incorrect company names on invoices and it was unclear who was in control of NAEH and Wise.

The third company that was wound up, National Auto Enrolment Helpline, had not conducted any activities but investigators demonstrated to the court there were strong grounds to believe that the company would have been used to continue the activities carried out by NAEH and Wise.

Scott Crighton, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

The Insolvency Service will investigate and bring to a halt the activities of companies that fail to meet the required standards of commercial probity and transparency and that are found to be operating against the public interest.

The Official Receiver is now responsible for the affairs of the companies and we want to assure the public that the court’s actions have put an immediate stop to their activities.

All enquiries concerning the affairs of the companies should be made to: The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, 2nd Floor, 3 Piccadilly Place, London Road, Manchester M1 3BN, Email: PIU.North@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk.

Notes to Editors

NAEH Ltd (CRN 7928084) was incorporated on 30 January 2012 as Ventica Limited. Its name was changed to NAEH Ltd on 9 August 2016. NAEH’s registered office is at 23 New Mount Street, Manchester, M4 4DE.

Wise Auto Enrolment Ltd (CRN 10617040) was incorporated on 13 February 2017. Its registered office is at 21 Broad Street, Bury, BL9 0DA.

National Auto Enrolment Helpline Ltd (CRN 10180658) was incorporated on 16 May 2016. Its registered office is at Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ.

The petitions to wind up the companies were presented in the High Court Manchester on 19 July 2018, under the provisions of section 124A of the Insolvency Act 1986 following confidential enquiries by Company Investigations under section 447 of the Companies Act 1985, as amended. Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service, uses powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. It may also use powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK. In addition, the agency deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

Contact Press Office

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7637 6498 or 020 7596 6187

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

The Queen has been pleased to appoint Mr Edmund Bailey as Constable of Caernarfon Castle in succession to the late Lord Snowdon GCVO.

Biographical Notes

Edmund Bailey has been the Lord-Lieutenant of Gwynedd since 2014. A farmer with business interests in tourism and renewable energy, he has previously served as President of NFU Cymru, as a member of the Lord Chancellor’s Agricultural Land Tribunal and as High Sheriff of Gwynedd. He lives at Llanbedr.

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into The Moss Side and Hulme Community Development Trust (1093592). The inquiry was opened on 28 August 2018.

The charity’s objects include urban and rural regeneration, relief of poverty, advancement of education, conservation of the environment, and the advancement of education in African Caribbean heritage and culture within Moss Side, Hulme and adjacent areas of Manchester.

In October 2017, the charity was included in the Commission’s class statutory inquiry, which looked into charities that had defaulted on their annual reporting obligations two or more times in the last five years. The charity filed its outstanding financial information and was removed from the class statutory inquiry on 29 March 2018. The fact that the charity has yet again failed to meet its statutory requirement to file its financial accounting documents on time is a serious regulatory concern to the Commission, and evidence of misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of charity.

The financial information submitted by the charity has also raised further regulatory concerns for the Commission in relation to potential unauthorised payments to a trustee, and other breaches of charity law affecting the management of the charity.

As a result the inquiry will look at the extent to which the trustees are complying with their legal duties in respect of their administration, governance and management of the Charity and in particular:

• the trustees’ compliance with their legal obligations for the preparation and filing of the charity’s accounts and other information or returns
• the extent to which the trustees have complied with previously issued regulatory guidance
• the extent to which there has been any unauthorised trustee remuneration

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.

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. Section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 gives the commission the power to institute inquiries. The opening of an inquiry gives the commission access to a range of investigative, protective and remedial legal powers.

To help registered providers understand their relative performance on the Regulator of Social Housing’s Value for Money metrics, RSH has today (27 September 2018) published an analysis of the last 3 years of annual accounts data.

The Value for Money report is part of the regulator’s continuing work to help the sector contextualise the performance of individual providers more easily. It aims to help boards compare themselves to organisations with similar business models and geographical locations. The summary report is accompanied by a detailed Value for Money metrics – Technical regression report, which explains the analysis in greater depth.

The reports are based on electronic Annual Accounts returns submitted to the regulator for financial years from 31 March 2015 to 31 March 2017 by private registered providers with more than 1,000 homes. The regulator has also carried out additional analysis at a sub-sector level to provide more detailed insight into the differences between different types of registered provider.

Some of the main findings include:

• Supported housing and housing for older people are associated with higher costs, and lower operating margins with fewer resources likely to be available for new development – this is likely to be linked to the broader scope of activities undertaken by providers with a specialised focus.
• London based providers also face higher costs, but this is partially compensated for by higher rents and scope for sales revenues – providers in this high demand area are therefore still able to develop social housing at a rate slightly above the sector average.
• Landlords in their first seven years following a Large Scale Voluntary Transfer are characterised by high levels of reinvestment in existing stock, but have little capacity for investment in new supply – this could be as a result of the higher costs associated with completing major repair commitments made at the time of transfer from the local authority
• The analysis shows that there is not a statistically significant relationship between the size of provider and either costs or the level of new supply of sub market homes – it is important to bear in mind that the analysis covers a limited time period and with many of the sector’s most significant mergers having only recently taken place, the picture on supply and longer-term business performance may change in the years following merger.

Fiona MacGregor, Director of Regulation said:

Our regression analysis provides useful insight into the factors that impact on registered providers’ performance across the suite of VfM metrics. It also informs the important debate about the potential to deliver greater value for money in the sector: whether that is improving services to existing tenants, building much needed new homes or working to improve the areas in which they operate. However, the analysis can only provide a partial picture, and cannot substitute for an organisation’s own understanding of its operating environment and its use of resources and assets.

The real question for boards is how to maximise the delivery of their strategic objectives and how they measure and demonstrate that they are doing so to key stakeholders including tenants, local communities and others.

The Value for Money – Summary report and the Value for Money metrics – Technical regression report can both be found on the RSH Gov.uk website.

Further information

1. The VfM metrics set out by the regulator focus on seven financial metrics using existing regulatory data to minimise interference and potential burdens on providers.
2. The regulator’s purpose is to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs. It does this by undertaking robust economic regulation focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer. It also sets consumer standards and may take action if these standards are breached and there is a significant risk of serious detriment to tenants or potential tenants.
3. For more information visit the Gov.uk website

Our About the Regulator of Social Housing page has contact details for media enquiries.

For general queries to RSH, please email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or call 0300 124 5225.