Category: Gov Press Releases

The Charity Commission has made a number of amendments to the content of the annual return for 2018 (AR18), after an extensive consultation with charities throughout the autumn.

It says the new annual return will make for an easier user experience for charities, and stresses that it will be more proportionate than in the past, with many charities required to answer fewer questions, and only those with large or complex operations being required to provide more information. On average, charities completing the annual return will answer 15 fewer questions than in the past.

In a consultation report published today, the regulator also says it is grateful for the positive and constructive engagement it has had with charities and that it has taken into account charities’ responses in making a number of key changes to the proposed content.

For example, the regulator is amending a proposed new question on income received from overseas. Only information about income from overseas governments or quasi-governmental bodies, charities and NGOs will be mandatory for the first year. This is information that relevant charities should already record and hold. Providing information about income from other overseas institutions and donors will be voluntary for the AR18 and then mandatory in following years. The Commission will also introduce a threshold for this information. These changes will ensure that charities can update their records and systems before the question areas become compulsory.

The Commission has also decided not to ask charities:

• whether they are claiming rate relief for the premises they use
• the amount of gift aid they have claimed (charities are already required to declare whether they are registered for gift aid, and the Commission will ask charities to provide their HMRC number)

The Commission says it requires these two pieces of information for regulatory purposes, but accepts that they may be available from other sources, and that it should pursue other options before adding to the reporting burden for charities.

Proposed new questions on executive pay in charities will be included in the annual return: AR18 will ask charities to provide information about the total remuneration received by their staff members, including salary, bonuses, pension contributions, private health care and other benefits in kind. The Commission will make public how many individuals receive total packages worth upwards of £60,000 in bands (in bands of £10,000 up to £150,000, then in bands of £50,000). The Commission will also require charities to provide information about their highest paid employee, but that information will be held for regulatory purposes, rather than made public.

David Holdsworth, Deputy CEO and Registrar at the Charity Commission, says:

The annual return is a vital tool in promoting charities’ accountability to the public, donors and beneficiaries as well as ensuring we have the information we need to be an effective, proportionate, risk-led regulator.
I am grateful to the charities that took part in our extensive consultation on the content of AR18. Today’s report shows that we have listened carefully to charities’ submissions and have made important changes as a result.

However, in some important areas, including around executive pay, we will require charities to provide us with more detailed information. We know the public care deeply about transparency in this area, and it is vital that charities, and the Commission as regulator, respond constructively to these expectations. I am confident our decision in this area strikes the right balance between transparency and protecting the personal data of individual staff members in charities.

The Commission engaged in a wide-ranging consultation on AR18, including through targeted user testing. It identified groups of charities most likely to be affected by proposed changes and asked individuals responsible for completing the annual return to test the prototype digital service. The Commission says that it received largely positive feedback about testers’ experience.

The Commission has also published the formal regulations underpinning the AR18.

The Commission is currently developing the digital service that will underpin AR18, and hopes to make the return available to charities within the next four months.

The annual return must be completed by charities with annual incomes of upwards of £10,000. AR18 applies to charities with financial years ending from 1 January 2018. Charities have ten months from the end of their financial year to complete the return.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, travels to China today (Tuesday 2 January), in his first international visit of the new year to advance the UK’s trade and investment relationship.

In a 2-stage visit to Beijing and Shenzhen, Dr Fox will meet the Chinese Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan and the chairman of one of the world’s largest insurance companies, Ma Mingzhe from Ping An. He will also promote the government-backed GREAT ‘Festival of Innovation’ taking place in Hong Kong later this year to showcase the latest technology from the UK and Asia.

China is the UK’s fifth largest trading partner in the world, with trade between the countries worth £59.1 billion based on the latest figures (2016). In the same period the UK exported £16.8 billion of goods and services, making China the UK’s eighth largest export market.

The Department for International Trade has also just announced up to £25 billion in financial support – including loan guarantees – for UK businesses operating along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The initiative, set up by the Chinese government, aims to increase economic cooperation with countries around the world along key transport routes.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox said:

China as a world leading economy and the UK’s fifth largest trading partner is an important market for British companies as we look to build independent trading relationships across the world.

As an international economic department, we want 2018 to be the year of exporting with businesses across the UK seizing the opportunities that the world provides.

That’s why we’re determined to make exporting even easier, and we have announced we’re making up to £25 billion of funding available for UK exporters and buyers of UK goods and services along the Belt and Road Initiative so that no viable export fails for a lack of funding.

The Trade Secretary’s visit follows the Economic Financial Dialogue in China last month (December 2017) where more than £1.4 billion of trade and investment was agreed in Beijing. Trade Minister Mark Garnier supported the Chancellor as they reaffirmed their commitment to developing a global partnership, establishing the next steps for a deeper trade and investment relationship as the UK builds an economy fit for the future.

The UK has also attracted more foreign direct investment projects than ever before (year 2016 to 2017). With 2,265 projects recorded, figures show an increase of 2% on the previous year. This means more than 75,000 new jobs were created, and 32,600 safeguarded, amounting to over 2,000 jobs per week across the country.

Further information

Total trade in goods and services (that is exports plus imports) between the UK and China totalled £59.1 billion in 2016 an 8.9% increase from 2015 (Source: ONS Pink Book 2017).

In 2016, UK exports to China amounted to £16.8 billion (a 2.4% increase from 2015).

The top 5 UK goods exported to China in 2016 were:

87 – vehicles other than railway or tramway stock (27.6% of all UK goods exported to China)

27 – mineral fuels or oils, products of their distillation (12.1%)

84 – machinery and mechanical appliances (10.5%)

85 – electrical machinery and equipment (6.8%)

71 – precious stones and metals (6.5%)

In the dataset, you can find the date of sale for each property, its full address and sale price, its category (residential or commercial) and type (detached, semi-detached, terraced, flat or maisonette and other), whether it is new build or not and whether it is freehold or leasehold.

The number of sales received for registration by property type and month

Property type	November 2017	October 2017	September 2017
Detached	24,767	22,849	22,377
Semi-detached	27,093	25,558	24,911
Terraced	27,890	26,394	25,829
Flat/maisonette	19,635	19,048	17,958
Other	7,027	7,159	6,027
Total	106,412	101,008	97,102

Of the 106,412 sales received for registration in November 2017:

• 79,133 were freehold, a 10.3% increase on November 2016
• 13,095 were newly built, a 5.2% increase on November 2016

There is a time difference between the sale of a property and its registration at HM Land Registry.

Of the 106,142 sales received for registration, 30,458 took place in November 2017 of which:

• 489 were of residential properties in England and Wales for £1 million and over
• 293 were of residential properties in Greater London for £1 million and over
• four were of residential properties in Greater Manchester for £1 million and over
• one was of a residential property in Cardiff for £1 million

The most expensive residential sale in November 2017 was a semi-detached property in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for £13m. The cheapest residential sale in November 2017 was of a terraced property in Burnley, Lancashire for £15,000.

The most expensive commercial sale in November 2017 was in Solihull, West Midlands for £73,900,000. The cheapest commercial sales in November 2017 were in Islington, Cambridge, Fenland, Redbridge and Southend on Sea, each for £100.

Access the full dataset.

Notes to editors

1. Price Paid Data is published at 11 am on the 20th working day of each month. The December dataset will be published on 29 January 2018.
2. A total of 65,000 duplicate cancelled sales transactions (less than 0.003% of the total) have been removed from the October 2003 – February 2005 data. We are committed to the accuracy of our data and will continue to respond to customer feedback.
3. Price Paid Data is property price data for all residential and commercial property sales in England and Wales that are lodged with HM Land Registry for registration in that month, subject to exclusions.
4. The amount of time between the sale of a property and the registration of this information with HM Land Registry varies. It typically ranges between 2 weeks and 2 months. Data for the two most recent months is therefore incomplete and does not give an indication of final monthly volumes. Occasionally the interval between sale and registration is longer than 2 months. The small number of sales affected cannot be updated for publication until the sales are lodged for registration.
5. Price Paid Data categories are either Category A (Standard entries) which includes single residential properties sold for full market value or Category B (Additional entries) for example sales to a company, buy-to-lets where they can be identified by a mortgage and repossessions.
6. HM Land Registry has been collecting information on Category A sales from January 1995 and on Category B sales from October 2013.
7. Price Paid Data can be downloaded in txt, csv format and in a machine-readable format as linked data and is released under Open Government Licence (OGL). Under the OGL, HM Land Registry permits the use of Price Paid Data for commercial or non-commercial purposes. However, the OGL does not cover the use of third party rights, which HM Land Registry is not authorised to license.
8. The Price Paid Data report builder allows users to build bespoke reports using the data. Reports can be based on location, estate type, price paid or property type over a defined period of time.
9. HM Land Registry is a government department created in 1862. It operates as an executive agency and a trading fund and its running costs are covered by the fees paid by the users of its services. Its ambition is to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.
10. HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership worth more than £4 trillion, including more than £1 trillion of mortgages. The Land Register contains more than 25 million titles, which show evidence of ownership, covering more than 85% of the land mass.
11. For further information about HM Land Registry visit www.gov.uk/land-registry.
12. Follow us on:

• Twitter @HMLandRegistry
• our blog
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

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The SatelLife Challenge, now in its second year, is looking for innovative proposals from those aged 11 to 22 which have the potential to use data collected from space to benefit our economy, health or the environment.
Ideas from last year’s competition ranged from solutions to help increase the survival rate of heart attack victims by using GPS trackers in fitness devices, to an app that warns people about impending natural disasters, guides them safely away and alerts emergency services.

Satellites support the economy and everyday life, and this competition gives young people the chance to test their ideas with industry experts and perhaps one day become part of the fastest growing sector of the UK economy.
The UK space industry builds 40% of the world’s small satellites and 25% of the world’s telecommunications satellites. It supports 40,000 jobs and generates £14 billion in revenue across the country.

Science minister Jo Johnson said:

“Satellites are shaping our society and increasingly important for our economy. Every second they send information around the world, keep shipping lanes and flightpaths clear and help us get to where we want to be.

“Young people today will be an integral part of our mission to grow the UK’s share of the global space market to 10% by 2030, as set out in our industrial strategy. We need to ensure the potential benefits of space are felt across the whole economy and encourage young British entrepreneurs to develop ideas that rival the best in the world.”

The overall winner in 2017 was James Pearson from Lincolnshire, who came up with an app to provide information on coastal flood risks, went on to meet British ESA astronaut Tim Peake and is using his prize money to develop his idea.

James Pearson, 14, said:

“The competition was absolutely amazing for me. It has opened my eyes to the opportunities that are around us. I have really had to push myself to learn new things. The highlights included meeting Tim Peake but also the industry experts. So far I have continued to get my website operational, I’ve been scanning the satellites for more images and I’ve increased my computing power. I will continue to work hard until the website is complete. I have really enjoyed this competition as it has developed my confidence, I was thrilled to win and just to learn about the space industry and technology.”

The competition, which aims to support the development of science, data handling and technological skills, is split into three age groups, with overall prizes of £7,500 for the best individual and best team. A further seven entries from across the age categories will win £5,000, making a total prize fund of £50,000. The judging panel will be made up of experts including representatives from the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Satellite Applications Catapult in Harwell and industry.

Adina Gillespie, Head of Applications for Earth Observation and Science, at Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), one of the expert judges, said:

“The SatelLife competition is a great initiative to encourage young people to think about satellite applications and consider future careers in the space industry – and we have a lot of fun along the way.”

Entries can be as teams or individuals and all prize winners will be able to pitch their idea to a panel of ‘dragons’ from the space sector who will offer prizes. In 2017 the competition winners were offered a mix of support including an offer to build a prototype, thousands of pounds worth of space on Amazon Cloud Services, access to data, business development advice and a visit to a satellite factory.

The competition closes on 25th February. Visit the SatelLife Challenge entry page for more information.

The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

The UK is watching events in Iran closely. We believe that there should be meaningful debate about the legitimate and important issues the protesters are raising and we look to the Iranian authorities to permit this.

We also believe that, particularly as we enter the 70th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, people should be able to have freedom of expression and to demonstrate peacefully within the law.

We regret the loss of life that has occurred in the protests in Iran, and call on all concerned to refrain from violence and for international obligations on human rights to be observed.

There has been a massive public response to the Government’s proposed ban on ivory sales – with over 60,000 responses to the public consultation, making it one of Defra’s most popular ever. Of the responses analysed so far the overwhelming majority support a ban.

In the past week more than 30,000 responses were submitted before the consultation closed.

Plans announced by Environment Secretary Michael Gove to impose a ban on ivory sales will protect elephants and help combat poaching by removing opportunities for criminals to trade illegally-poached ivory.

Unlike previous proposals, these plans cover items of all ages, not only those created after a certain date.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:

It is imperative we halt the decline in the elephant population to protect these wonderful animals for future generations. Ivory should never be seen as a commodity for financial gain or a status symbol and we are ready to take radical and robust action to protect one of the world’s most iconic and treasured species.

It’s incredibly heartening that so many people have contributed to our consultation. The response underlines that we are a nation which cares for wildlife. In 2018 the UK must be front and centre of global efforts to end this insidious trade.

Tanya Steele, WWF CEO said:

The scale of the public response – including over 60,000 who signed a WWF petition – shows just how strongly the British public feel about the need to end this mindless slaughter.

The UK Government must now act quickly. On average 55 elephants a day are killed. Every day we wait is a day too long.

The number of elephants has declined by almost a third in the last decade and around 20,000 a year are still being slaughtered due to the global demand for ivory.

The decline of elephants would also deprive some of the poorest countries in the world of their valuable natural capital, affecting economic growth and sustainable development.

As profits become ever greater, the illegal wildlife trade has become a transnational organised enterprise, estimated to be worth between £7 and £17 billion a year.

The ban would reaffirm the UK’s global leadership on this critical issue, demonstrating the UK’s belief that the ivory trade should become a thing of the past.

It comes as the largest market for ivory, China, has introduced a ban on all trading and processing activities which came in to force at the end of 2017.

This new ban builds on Government work both at home and overseas to tackle poaching and the illegal ivory trade. The UK military trains an elite force of anti-poachers in African countries, and Border Force officers share their expertise in identifying smuggled ivory with counterparts worldwide to stop wildlife trafficking.

In October 2018, the UK will host a fourth international conference on the illegal wildlife, bringing global leaders to London to tackle the strategic challenges of the trade. This follows the ground breaking London 2014 conference on the illegal wildlife trade, and subsequent conferences in Botswana and Vietnam.

The Government will publish a response to the consultation shortly.

Speaking just ahead of the turn of the year, Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell said:

“We have experienced huge changes in Scotland this year.

“I know for many people 2017 will have sometimes felt like a challenging year.

“But as we look forward to the Bells, I’d like to reflect on the progress we have made – and address some of the tasks facing us in 2018.

“The General Election in June, the arrival of important new tax powers at Holyrood earlier this month, and our on-going preparations to leave the EU have all had an immense impact.

“I was honoured to be reappointed Secretary of State for Scotland after the election and I’m determined to ensure the UK Government continues to deliver for Scotland.

“At the beginning of the year, Scotland faced demands from the Scottish Government for a second independence referendum.

“But Scots used the General Election to reject their proposal and I hope the Scottish Government continues to heed the people’s verdict.

“It has allowed Scotland’s two governments to work much more collaboratively as we put in place the necessary arrangements for Brexit – and it is essential we continue to do that throughout 2018.

“We must build on the constructive relationships we have forged if we are to return powers from Brussels in a way that strengthens devolution and protects our vitally important UK single market.

“This year we reached agreement with the EU on a number of key areas, including our commitment to protect the rights of EU citizens after Brexit.

“I’m delighted that will reassure 200,000 friends, neighbours and colleagues who have made their homes in Scotland and whose contribution we value so much.

“Next year, we will begin negotiations on our future relationship with the EU and, working with the Scottish Government, we will put in place necessary arrangements for fishing, farming, trade and immigration.

“There is a lot of work to do. I’m in no doubt we’ll need to work together.

“Since 2016 the UK Government and Scottish Government have been working together to transfer wide ranging new powers to Holyrood, which were agreed following the independence referendum.

“That work will continue next year as more welfare powers are devolved but already the changes are being felt.

“Earlier this month, the Scottish Government unveiled a budget which was based, for the first time, on its own income tax proposals.

“I disagree strongly with their decision to make Scotland the most highly taxed part of the UK. That cannot be the right choice for families or our economy.

“But I’m confident, 20 years after we voted for a Scottish Parliament, that it has made Holyrood far more accountable. The on-going tax debate is proof of that.

“In 2018 we must focus on the economy and I urge the Scottish Government to use their powers effectively and to work with the UK Government.

“We need to pull together as we roll out the UK’s ambitious Industrial Strategy.

“We’ll need to collaborate, too, on the Borderland’s Growth Deal and UK City Deals in Stirling and Tayside, and on supporting Scotland’s key industries, including whisky, life sciences and energy.

“The UK Government has been doing its part – for example our £1 billion backing of UK City Deals and important measures such as freezing spirits duty to allow Scottish distillers to invest and to encourage new firms.

“So here’s to 2018. There are many challenges ahead of us but I am confident it can be a great year for Scotland.

“As ever my door remains open to all those people and business who have a stake in Scotland’s success. Let’s work together as we look to the future.”