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UK charity regulators are today encouraging auditors and independent examiners to be more forthcoming with concerns they come across in charity finances or governance during the course of their work.

Reporting of relevant matters of interest to UK charity regulators is a joint publication from the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.

This is the first time the regulators have provided examples on where reporting would be helpful by auditors and independent examiners when reporting matters that are relevant but not a legal requirement to report.

Today’s publication advocates a ‘when in doubt, report it’ approach and includes examples of relevant matters which may be reported:

• insecure funding putting beneficiaries at risk – for example, a charity established to care for vulnerable adults and children is reliant on a single contract for 90% of its income in the reporting period and the trustees are uncertain whether they will be able to secure future funding at the current level when the contract is renewed the following year
• donation that may indicate vulnerability to abuse – for example, a large donation is made via an intermediary organisation, restricted to teaching the strict beliefs of a particular religion and requires educational materials to be purchased from a specified overseas source
• lack of financial oversight by the whole trustee body – for example, minutes show that the finances of a large charity are only considered annually during a presentation from the CEO

Nigel Davies, Head of Accountancy Services at the Charity Commission for England and Wales, said:

Last year’s Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee report on Kids Company noted that auditors have been too reticent when it comes to reporting matters of concern that would be of interest to the regulator. Through this new publication we are encouraging and enabling the profession to step up and engage with us more readily on a proactive basis.

Myles McKeown, Head of Compliance and Enquiries at Charity Commission for Northern Ireland said:

With over 200,000 registered charities operating across the UK we as regulators cannot possibly upturn every stone, and so auditors and independent examiners have an incredibly important role to play in helping us regulate effectively.

Laura Anderson, Head of Professional Advice and Intelligence at OSCR said:

This document is a collaborative initiative between UK regulators. This joined up approach to guidance has enabled us to provide the most consistent and comprehensive insights on areas we encourage auditors to report to us, drawing on UK-wide experience across the sector.

Ends

PR 73/17

Notes to editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.
2. Search for charities on our check charity tool.
3. Reporting of relevant matters of interest to UK charity regulators should be read alongside the guidance for auditors and independent examiners on reporting matters of material significance which is published by the UK charity regulators.
4. Information on how to make a report is available in Section 3.
5. There is no requirement for auditors or independent examiners to undertake any additional audit or examination work to identify relevant matters for reporting. The matters that are reported will be those identified during the course of an audit or independent examination. (See Section 2.2)
6. Minor issues – those that are immaterial to the accounts and matters that have no bearing on the use of charitable funds or assets – to do with honest mistakes in the governance of a charity do not need to be reported to a charity regulator. (See Section 2.3)
7. The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is the independent regulator and registrar of Scotland’s 23,500 charities and publishes the Scottish Charity Register at www.oscr.org.uk. Our vision is for charities in which the public has confidence and which provide public benefit.
8. The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland is the independent regulator of charities in Northern Ireland, established under the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, responsible for ensuring Northern Ireland has a dynamic and well governed charities sector in which the public can have confidence.

British Ambassador to Vietnam, Giles Lever, and Vice Minister for Science and Technology, Tran
Quoc Khanh, presented the award in Hanoi on Thursday, 16 November 2017 to the winning lead researchers
Dr. Vo Nguyen Son from Duy Tan University, and his UK-based counterpart Dr. Trung Duong from
Queen’s University Belfast.

Their Newton Fund project, “Building a foundation for sustainable development networked societies
for the cities of tomorrow” designed an integrated heterogeneous wireless system (IHWS), which is
robust in maintaining communications during disasters such as floods, landslides and droughts. It
copes with issues such as physical destruction of telecommunication networks, lack of power supply
and network congestion. The system also provides early warning of natural disasters by detecting
water level, vibration and wind. In cities, the IWHS can detect increases in dust, temperature, noise
and carbon dioxide levels. Academic staff and students from 20 universities throughout Vietnam have
been trained in the system and several leading telecommunication companies are interested in
bringing it into production.

Dr. Trung Duong said:

I am so pleased to have won the 2017 Newton Prize. Natural disasters are a big problem not just in Vietnam but throughout the whole world and the impact is worse for those in remote and isolated areas with no access to the ICT facilities that are essential to providing vital warning information and aiding in rescue missions. This prize money will allow myself and my team to develop the system further and to work with the key telecommunications companies in Vietnam. By doing so we can provide citizens with better warning, measurement tools and education initiatives.

More than 100 people attended the event at the Ministry of Science and Technology, including
researchers, representatives of the Vietnamese government and Vietnamese delivery partners to
celebrate three years of the Newton Fund Programme Vietnam and its growing success in research
and innovation collaboration between the UK and Vietnam.

British Ambassador to Vietnam, Giles Lever, said:

International cooperation with a diversity of ideas,
views and good practice plays a very important role in research and innovation. As a dynamic
emerging economy with a strong vision of the importance of science and innovation in human
development, Vietnam is a natural partner for the global Newton Fund. By working together and
leveraging each other’s strengths, we can achieve more than what we would achieve alone. I am
excited to think about the future possibilities, and look forward to a bright future for the Newton Fund
Programme Vietnam.

The Newton Fund Programme Vietnam is the first formal research and innovation partnership
programme between the UK and Vietnamese Governments. The programme aims to support
Vietnam’s economic and social development through science and innovation as well as recognise
challenges and support Vietnam’s research and innovation to be more impactful. Over the last three
and a half years, the fund has disbursed nearly £5 million and rolled out 35 calls over 15 schemes.
This has resulted in 162 grants that benefit nearly 400 individuals, mostly researchers from 60
Vietnamese and 43 UK research organisations.

The Newton Prize is an annual £1 million fund awarded for the best research or innovation that
promotes the economic development and social welfare of developing countries. More than 150
Newton funded projects, fellowships or other awards applied for the Newton Prize from the eligible
countries for this year – India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. There are 25 shortlisted
applications in total and five Prizes of up to £200,000 will be awarded to each winner to be used to
advance or develop existing Newton funded work.

The Newton Prize aims to incentivise researchers to participate in the Newton Fund as partners with
the UK, and to work on the most important challenges facing Newton countries. The concept for the
Newton Prize has been developed to demonstrate how UK partnerships with Newton countries are
solving global challenges.

Notes to Editor

The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with 18 partner countries to support
their economic development and social welfare, and to develop their research and innovation capacity
for long-term sustainable growth. The Newton Fund is managed by the UK Department for Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and delivered through 15 UK delivery partners, which include
the Research Councils, the UK Academies, the British Council, Innovate UK and the Met Office.
The Newton Fund Programme Vietnam is the first formal research and innovation partnership
programme between the UK and Vietnamese Governments. Both countries have agreed the five
priority areas of mutual interest as health and life sciences; agriculture; environmental resilience
and energy security; future cities; and digital innovation and creativity; falling into three groups
of activities:

• People – Capacity building activities, exchanges and fellowships.
• Research – research collaborations on development topics.
• Translation- Training and partnerships to transfer research into practical development solutions.

For further information contact Ms Dinh Thu Huong, Communication Manager, British Embassy
Hanoi, Tel. 3936 0500 ext 2227; email: dinh.huong@fco.gov.uk
Or visit the Newton Fund website and follow via Twitter: @NewtonFund

UK Government Ministers will host members of Merched y Wawr at an event in London today to mark the 50th anniversary of the women’s organisation (22 November).

Members will join the Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns and Guto Bebb at a drinks reception at Gwydyr House where the achievements of the Welsh language social movement will be celebrated.

Merched y Wawr has over 270 branches and clubs across Wales, giving women of all ages the opportunity to get together and socialise in Welsh, with learners welcome too.

The movement was first formed by women from the small rural village of Parc by Bala in 1967, as a Welsh-speaking organisation that quickly grew to become a Wales-wide organisation.

This year, Merched y Wawr embarked on a national tour to mark five decades of social gatherings – visiting the Urdd and National Eisteddfodau, Royal Welsh Show, National Library of Wales, The Pierhead and other venues across the country.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

Merched y Wawr is a pillar of Welsh culture and society, welcoming women from across the country to take part in a wide variety of activities through the medium of Welsh.

As the movement marks its 50th anniversary, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to host members at Gwydyr House today and to celebrate the hard work and dedication of members who volunteer tirelessly to make the organisation as successful as it is.

The UK Government remains committed to ensuring the Welsh language and culture continues to thrive and the contribution Merched Y Wawr makes to that effort is invaluable. I extend my warmest congratulations to them as they reach this important milestone. Here’s to another 50 years.

National director of Merched y Wawr, Tegwen Morris said:

It is a great honour to be in London representing the Merched y Wawr members, as so much has been achieved over the past fifty years.

We still organise over 3,000 events in Wales on an annual basis. This year we have succesfully completed a heritage project that has managed to capture so many memories, collect thousands of articles and has renewed our enthusiasm for the future.

We thank you for the privilege and opportunity to come to Gwydyr House to celebrate our Golden Anniversary – an experience that we truly appreciate.

ENDS

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

I will not pretend to regret Mugabe’s downfall: but this can now be a turning point, a moment of hope for this beautiful country, full of potential. The immediate priority is to ensure that Zimbabwe has a legitimate government, appointed through free and fair elections in accordance with the constitution.

That’s what the UK wants to see and together, with our international friends and partners in the region, we stand ready to support Zimbabwe in this goal.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

The resignation of Robert Mugabe provides Zimbabwe with an opportunity to forge a new path free of the oppression that characterised his rule. In recent days we have seen the desire of the Zimbabwean people for free and fair elections and the opportunity to rebuild the country’s economy under a legitimate government.

As Zimbabwe’s oldest friend we will do all we can to support this, working with our international and regional partners to help the country achieve the brighter future it so deserves.