Tag: communications

The review will be led by Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE and is expected to report in, later in 2018.

The review will explore why the proportion of applicants for public appointments who declare a disability, is low compared to the UK population as a whole. It will also explore how the process could be improved, to encourage more applications from disabled people.

It is part of the Government’s Diversity Action Plan which also includes an ambition that by 2022, half of all public appointees should be female and 14% should be from ethnic minorities, bringing representation on public boards in line with the wider population of England and Wales.

Public appointments are high profile and influential positions on boards of public bodies which run, regulate and advise our public service. These can include Chairs and other senior non-executive positions and range from Court Visitors to Commissioners and Ombudsmen.

Minister for Implementation, Oliver Dowden said:

It is essential that public appointees are truly representative of the society they serve. Diverse public boards are more effective, benefiting from fresh perspectives, new ideas, vigorous challenge and broad experiences. It is both morally right to ensure greater participation from disabled people but I also believe it will lead to better decision-making.

I’m thrilled to announce that Lord Holmes will be leading the review. He combines expertise in accessibility, diversity and inclusion, as well as a wealth of personal experience on public boards.

The Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE said:

I’m delighted that the government is looking seriously at this issue. Public appointments play a fundamental role in shaping society as well as within the organisations themselves. I look forward to working with the government to better understand and improve the recruitment process so that we can address the reality that whilst talent is everywhere, opportunity is not.

Today’s announcement was made at the Public Chairs’ Forum Diversity, Inclusion and Equality for Boards event, where the Minister spoke to Chairs of Public Bodies about his ambition for diversity in public appointments. It follows a commitment made in the Government’s Diversity Action Plan, launched in December 2017, to commission a review into the barriers facing those with visible and non-visible disabilities when considering public appointments.

The fund follows the launch of the successful Mutuals Support Programme in January. This fund provided 12 organisations with support to set up or grow as Public Service Mutuals.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said:

We want to support the development, growth and sustainability of mutuals. Our funding boost has already enabled dozens of organisations to flourish.

This next round will strengthen our commitment and allow many institutions, staff, and their customers, to benefit from more independence, faster decision-making and less bureaucracy in the future.

To apply for funding email the Mutuals Team at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on: mutuals@culture.gov.uk.

Funding will be open until 17.00hrs on Friday 29 June.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

Public service mutuals are organisations that have left the public sector but continue delivering public services.

To apply for support from this programme you must currently, or intend to, fulfil our definition of a Public Service Mutual, which is an organisation that: i) has left the public sector (also known as ‘spinning out’) ii) continues to deliver public services and aims to have a positive social impact iii) has a significant degree of staff influence or control in the way it is run.

If you’re an existing mutual, you must be in your first five years of operation, or delivering your original or extended contract which has not been retendered, or both.

You must be able to demonstrate how support from this programme will help your organisation grow or diversify its operations.

All applicants will be required to demonstrate their commitment to their project and the mutual model by providing matched funding, in cash, towards the support needed.

The government has today introduced new legislation to Parliament to give police new powers to investigate hostile state activity at the border.

The measure, announced by the Prime Minister following the attack in Salisbury, forms part of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill.

Using the new power, the police or dedicated immigration or customs officers will be able to stop, question, search and detain an individual at a port, airport or border area to determine whether he or she is, or has been, engaged in hostile activity.

Home Secretary, Sajid Javid said:

We judge that it was highly likely that the Russian state carried out the appalling attack in Salisbury which demonstrates why the police need robust powers to investigate, identify and challenge those acting against our interests.

This is a necessary and proportionate response to the threat and will, of course, be subject to strict safeguards and robust oversight to assure its proper use.

The power will be subject to robust oversight by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner Sir Adrian Fulford and the bill includes provisions for safeguards to protect legally privileged and journalistic material.

The UK faces a sustained threat from hostile state actors seeking to undermine national security in a variety of ways, including espionage and, as the attack in Salisbury made clear, violence against individuals.

As announced in the government’s strengthened counter-terrorism strategy, the legislation will also introduce a variety of new laws to respond to the unprecedented terrorist threat, allowing earlier intervention to disrupt terrorism. These include:

• amending certain terrorism offences to update them for the digital age, to reflect contemporary patterns of radicalisation and to close gaps in their scope
• strengthening the sentencing framework for terrorism-related offences and the power for managing terrorist offenders following their release from custody, including by increasing the maximum penalty for certain offences, to ensure that the punishment properly reflects the crime and to better prevent re-offending
• strengthening the powers of the police to prevent terrorism and investigate terrorist offences

The bill will also amend the Reinsurance (Acts of Terrorism) Act 1993 so that the government-backed terrorism reinsurer, Pool Re, can extend its business interruption cover to include losses that are not contingent on physical damage to commercial property.

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries International 1100416. The inquiry was opened on 27 March 2018.

The charity’s objects include propagating Christianity through various channels including seminars and conventions, counselling programmes for the distressed, bereaved and the vulnerable, education through bible studies, evangelical training and teaching, as well as the publication and distribution of educational print and media.

The charity has repeatedly failed to submit returns and financial information to the Commission on time and its accounts for 2014 and 2015 were qualified by its auditors. The Commission has been in active engagement with the trustees of the charity since September 2017 having been made aware of potentially significant losses to the charity. The Commission is concerned about the apparent failures within the administration and management of the charity which have resulted in an environment in which such losses could occur, and continued to occur over a prolonged period.

The charity operates through a network of approximately 40 separate branches, which are allowed a degree of autonomy from the main charity in respect of administration and financial matters. However, the Commission has identified concerns as to the adequacy of the trustees’ oversight and control over the individual branches. The Commission also has concerns about the trustees’ failure to promptly report serious incidents to the Commission and to the police.

In order to address these concerns, a statutory inquiry has been opened.

The inquiry will examine the following regulatory issues:

• the governance, management and administration of the charity by the trustees, with specific regard to:
  • the extent of financial loss to the charity and the circumstances which led to the losses
  • whether adequate steps were or are being taken to recover such losses
  • whether reasonable steps were or are being taken to safeguard charity funds and assets
  • the adequacy of the trustees’ oversight and control of the charity’s branches
  • the adequacy of serious incident reporting by the trustees
• the extent to which the trustees have complied with their duties and responsibilities under charity law, including the trustees compliance with legal obligations for the preparation and filing of the charity’s accounts and returns
• whether and to what extent any issues or weaknesses in the administration of the charity
  • were as a result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees and
  • require rectification by the trustees or the Commission

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.

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.