The HUB Lancaster District Community and Voluntary Solutions December 2010
Do you have an adverse weather policy?
Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year from Lancaster District CVS
www.lancastercvs.org.uk mail@lancastercvs.org.uk Trinity Community Centre Middle Street Lancaster LA1 1JZ 01524 555900
Lancaster District CVS exists to support local voluntary groups, to encourage them to work together, to provide a link between voluntary and statutory bodies and to find ways of meeting unmet needs by voluntary action.
CVS Staff Jon Rigby Chief Officer email: jonrigby@lancastercvs.org.uk
Ext. 20
Jane Attfield Ext. 27 Voluntary Sector Development Worker email: janeattfield@lancastercvs.org.uk
Bill Livesey Deputy Chief Officer email: billlivesey@lancastercvs.org.uk
Ext. 28
Hannah Bland Ext. 26 Voluntary Sector Development Worker email: hannahbland@lancastercvs.org.uk
Jane Dutton Ext. 20 Office Manager email: janedutton@lancastercvs.org.uk
Kevin Goodall Ext. 24 Information & Publications Officer email: kevingoodall@lancastercvs.org.uk
June Ellis Finance Officer email: juneellis@lancastercvs.org.uk
Penny Darby Ext. 32 Funding Officer email: pennydarby@lancastercvs.org.uk
Ext. 25
Organisations hosted by Lancaster District CVS Community Learning Network
Friendship Centre
Debra Hughes CLN Development Worker email: debrahughes@cln-lancaster.org.uk
Alys Jenkins Friendship Centre Development Worker email: alysjenkins@lancastercvs.org.uk
Charity Registration (England & Wales) Number 1127626 Company Registration (England & Wales) Number 6743623 Registered office as above
Contents 1 British Isles, December 8th 2010, NEODAAS / University of Dundee 2 Contacts 3 Contents / LACVS Lancashire Association of Councils for Voluntary Service (LACVS) is the collaborative body formed in 2007 to enable the sub-region’s eight local, independent CVS to strengthen their support for voluntary, community and faith (VCF) organisations.
4 Pensions Reform 2012 5 Gift Aid Value Dropping 6 Do you have an adverse weather policy?
The eight CVS have memberships and networks of local VCF groups which reach out to more than 4,000 groups across the sub-region, which range from small informal community and voluntary groups to larger, staffed service providers serving diverse communities across rural and urban areas.
7 Young Inspectors 8 A Breath for Life 9 The Good Access Guide
LACVS’s collaborative work currently involves representing the VCF sector on regional bodies like Lancashire Partnership and joint work including the administration of Volunteering Lancashire, also managing and providing support at local level for the Lancashire Community Foundation Grassroots Grants’ scheme.
10 Health Inequalities in Lancashire 11 Performance Reward Grant 12 Funding 13 Training & Events
For more information about LACVS, see the website lacvs.org.uk. Funded by
Members of
3
Pensions Reform 2012 With people now living longer than ever before, the Government has introduced new legislation that will encourage more workers to adequately save for what may well be a long retirement.
bonuses and overtime), with the Government providing 1% (via tax relief) to match the employees' 4% contribution.
In addition to the financial duty on employers, it is also likely to mean extra From October 2012, all organisations will be administration work as: required by law to contribute to their • employers must auto-enrol each eligible employees' pensions. However, this is being employee into a QWPS within 14 days of introduced in stages, and smaller them becoming eligible. organisations may have up until September • they must calculate and make daily 2016 until they become part of the scheme. deductions from the employee’s salary for payment into the QWPS. Though this could be nearly six years away, • they must provide information about autothe financial affect on organisations that are enrolment to eligible employees without currently not making any contributions could providing advice. be significant – and it may be advisable to • they must re-auto-enrol employees who start planning now for these future spending have opted out, 3 years from the date that commitments. they were first eligible. • employers must make a contribution of 3% Every employee that is aged between 22 and of band earnings, though they can make State Pension Age and earns £5,720 (this larger contributions. figure will increase in line with budget / tax • they must issue a full refund to employees band changes) or more must be autowho opt-out within the opt-out period. enrolled into a 'Qualifying Workplace Pension Scheme' (QWPS). All employers will have to register their schemes with The Pensions Regulator, which Employers will have to contribute 3% of has more information about the changes on 'band earnings' (which includes salary, its website (below).
www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/pensions-reform.aspx NEST, a non-departmental public body, will be a new workplace pension scheme being designed specifically to meet the needs of low-to-moderate earners and their employers. 4
Since the basic rate of income tax fell from 22% to 20% in 2008, the Government has added a 3p supplement to the 25p of Gift Aid reclaimable for every £1 donated by tax payers. From Wednesday 6th April 2011, the transitional relief will no longer be added and eligible organisations will receive 25p for every £1 donated. The transitional relief period was always due to end by this date, but many organisations had hoped that it would be extended. However, with the austerity measures the Government is taking this seems very unlikely, and with the raise in VAT at the beginning of 2011 – some organisations could be seriously affected. There are a few ways charities can make the most of Gift Aid in the next three months, and they are detailed below.
Encourage your donors to give under the scheme before the transitional relief ends Encourage donors to give in the next three months, with a mail out specifically targeting this issue and raising awareness of the drop in funding your organisation is likely to see as a result of the change. Highlight the additional tax relief available to higher rate tax payers, which could amount to as much as 30% for very high earners.
Make sure that you get your claims in to the Revenue in good time Claims for Gift Aid including the transitional relief will be accepted if made within two years of the end of the accounting period in which the income was received. The normal limit is four years, but for transitional relief this is reduced.
Review donors who have not yet signed a Gift Aid declaration If donors have previously told you they are not taxpayers, check with them to see if their circumstances have changed. If you've never asked, now is the time to do so. If you find they've always been a taxpayer, review their giving history and make a claim for any gifts given in the last four years because HMRC will pay the interest. For more information about Gift Aid, see the website www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities. 5
Do you have an adverse weather policy? Though the Lancaster District largely managed to avoid the recent snowfall that affected many parts of Britain, it was the second time in a year that severe weather has caused disruption locally. Whilst organisations need to safely maintain services during adverse weather conditions, they also have a duty of care to their staff and volunteers. At the beginning of the year, a YouGov survey suggested that about three quarters of employees were affected by the adverse weather conditions which it claimed was equivalent to 124 million working hours. People are not automatically entitled to be paid if they are unable to get to work, so it is good practice to have a bad weather policy in place so that they are aware of the consequences of this. It is also worth considering what would happen if they turn up but the workplace does not open. Having such a policy should mean that there is much less scope for confusion and disagreement. Any such policy should compel people to make their ‘best efforts’ to get to work. However, it is important to stress that they should not put themselves at risk in doing so – especially those who drive as part of their job. It is also important that organisations are as reasonable as they can be, especially to staff that are parents and may need time off to look after their children if schools are closed. Alternative arrangements should be considered, as even if staff or volunteers can undertake a little work from home (if not all of it) it means the organisation doesn’t lose all productivity when the bad weather strikes. Alternatively, paid staff should be able to make up lost hours to save deducting pay from salary, or use it as Lieu Time or Annual Leave. While workers should make every reasonable effort to get into work, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) advises that people should not attempt to travel if it is not safe to do so. Organisations should contact staff and volunteers to advise them about getting into work. They should also take care that workers do not get trapped at work or put at risk if the weather gets worse. Workers should also let their employers know if they are not able to make it into work. The TUC have an example policy available on their website, www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/ tuc-15932-f0.cfm. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service have useful information on its website, www.acas.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2797, which can be incorporated into a policy. 6
The Young Inspectors that reviewed an information and advice service in Morecambe recently Signposts, a local charity that runs many projects in the Lancaster District, has recently launched a new project called Young Inspectors which trains up young people aged 13-19 to inspect services and provide recommendations. Each of the young people involved with the project receive three days of training that covers methods of inspections, confidentiality, team building and confidence building. The qualified Young Inspectors carry out inspections and produce reports of their findings. The report can be provided in different formats including video, audio or photographic, and is supported by a written report from Signposts. These reports are submitted to the inspected organisation and the National Children’s Bureau (who are hosting the project at national level). A review of an information and advice service in Morecambe was deemed a ‘great success’ by the organisation inspected. A group of four Young Inspectors carried out the inspection based on five key questions from the organisation such as “How are young people involved in the development, delivery and evaluation of the service?”. The Young Inspectors visited the organisation and split into groups to carry out the inspection. One group carried out interviews with the staff and the other group took part in the services on offer to experience the service. The young people also developed questionnaires for young people using the service to feed back their ideas. The young people created a report and drew up a number of recommendations e.g. ensuring the views of young people were heard about the service, which the organisation responded to by implementing a suggestion box, evaluation form and a score card to rate the service the user received. If you are involved with a local service that is accessed by young people and would like more information about being inspected, email ruth.paterson@signposts.org.uk. 7
A Breath for Life is a Morecambe-based charity that was created over ten years ago to provide help and support for brain injured children, primarily through the use of their Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Centre. Since then, the organisation has opened its doors to both children and adults suffering from a variety of neurological and physical problems.
and to the children of Heysham High School, who volunteered a bag packing day on our behalf.” At the centre, patients receive 100% oxygen through a hood or mask in a pressurised chamber which makes blood oxygen rich, reduces swelling causing blood vessels to shrink and encourages new cell growth. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment is more commonly associated with the treatment of scuba divers suffering from decompression illness, where nitrogen bubbles that have formed within the body are decreased in size.
The charity is unique in the North West, and is one of only a very small number of organisations offering oxygen therapy nationally. As such, A Breath for Life has many users that travel long distances to use the service.
Zoe Greenwood is a Founder of the charity, which she was inspired to set up after her Dave Holehouse, Manager and Senior daughter Becky had been diagnosed with Chamber Operator, is the only paid employee Dyspraxia. She had read a newspaper article – but he is assisted by four regular volunteers about oxygen therapy being used to treat and five Trustees. Jane Dean, Founder and children with learning difficulties which had Trustee of the charity, said “We are very had good results, and thought it might be thankful to our supporters, in particular, the what Becky needed. Queen Elizabeth School in Kirkby Lonsdale who adopted us in our infancy and each A chance meeting with Jane Dean, a successive sixth form has stuck with us. More naturopath who had also read the recently the new local Sainsbury’s store in newspaper article, led to the two fundraising Morecambe chose to highlight the work of A to purchase their own chamber and create Breath for Life and we are thankful to them the organisation as it is today. 8
The Good Access Guide by Members of One Voice
Thomas, pictured in the chamber, receiving hyperbaric oxygen treatment at A Breath for Life in Middleton, Morecambe
The Good Access Guide has been compiled by the members of Lancaster-based disability charity One Voice which is updated on a regular basis, and based upon their knowledge of the local area.
Zoe’s daughter was one of the first people to begin using the service, and she believes that the hyperbaric oxygen therapy was the stimulus for Becky to start speaking – within weeks she was putting words together and within months, sentences. After years of treatment her coordination had improved, and her overall health was better. Zoe said “I belive that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a natural treatment that helps the body help itself heal.”
The guide includes information about a variety of the District’s attractions, shops and services which can be viewed by category, town or service. It is suitable to be used by those with low mobility, a disability or parents with pushchairs. An online version of the guide can be found on the website (below), where details of a printable and a mobile version of the guide can also be found.
For more information about A Breath for Life, contact Dave Holehouse by calling (01524) 855422, emailing abreathforlife@tiscali.co.uk or visit www.abreathforlife.org.
www.disabilityaccess.info 9
The Economic Costs of Health Inequalities Across Lancashire A report has been produced by Intelligence for Healthy Lancashire, a group funded by Lancashire County Council and the Lancashire Primary Care Trusts to provide an overview of the health status of the County’s population, which measured the economic costs of health inequalities in Lancashire. The costs of health inequalities in Lancashire are measured to be between £2.45 and £3.98 billion. This is based on the cost estimates of three factors; premature death, days of work lost and direct costs to the NHS (see the table below for the individual breakdown of each).
The local report is based around the Marmot Review which examined the link between health and wealth, in which it claims the poor not only die seven years sooner than the rich, but they can expect to become disabled 17 years earlier. The local report makes a number of recommendations to have a positive impact on health inequalities, including organisations providing volunteering opportunities to "support the process of getting people back into work and improving social capital". The report states “The rationale for reducing inequalities in health and its determinants is often on the basis of morality or social justice. However, it is clear that there is also a strong economic cost to health inequalities, in terms of direct costs to the NHS and reduced production, but also at an individual level. Health is not generally something which is desired in and of itself, but rather is desired as it enables individuals to take part in working, learning, being involved in their community and enjoying leisure time.” For the full report, see Intelligence for Healthy Lancashire’s website www.lancashire.gov.uk/jsna. 10
Lancaster District Local Strategic Partnership Performance Reward Grant The Lancaster District Local Strategic Partnership (LDLSP) brings together organisations from the public, private, and third (voluntary, community and faith) sectors to improve the quality of life for people who live, work and visit the Lancaster District. The LDLSP received a £480,000 Performance Reward Grant from the Government earlier in the year. It is their intention to use the one-off funds (listed below) to maximise investment into the District and make a sustainable difference to the lives of local people.
Warm Homes
Social Enterprise
The LDLSP will invest £100,000 into measures to insulate homes within the District, which will reduce excess winter deaths, make homes more affordable and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This investment will attract multiple matched funding from a utility company and they expect a total of £850,000 to be spent, meaning several thousand homes will be insulated over the next couple of years. The work will be undertaken by local contractors and they will encourage them to use sustainable materials wherever possible.
£120,000 of funding will be available to support the creation of social enterprises and other forms of organisation that deliver social and environmental benefits and are financially sustainable.
Renewable Energy The LDLSP will part-fund (£15,000) a joint study with Ribble Valley and Pendle LSPs to investigate the feasibility of hydroelectricity generation in and around the Forest of Bowland. A further pot of funding will be available for promising community hydroelectricity schemes in the District to bid for.
Co-operative Fund Finding £100,000 of funding will be available to support District organisations / partnerships in accessing local, national and potentially even European funding, in order to help them deliver the ‘Big Ticket’ priorities. A meeting of key stakeholders was held in late November and expressions of interest will be sought from potential providers. Reserve £100,000 of funding has yet to be allocated. There is no deadline by which this must be spent so the Management Group have the option of funding further initiatives at any point in the future.
For more information about the LDLSP, see the website www.lancaster.gov.uk/lsp. 11
Reaching Communities (Buildings) The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) has revealed the details of a new strand of their Reaching Communities funding. Until March 2013, £75 million is available to fund projects which will replace or improve buildings where a wide range of community activities take place. BIG want to fund projects that can help meet their aim of improving communities and the lives of people most in need. Grants of between £100,000 and £500,000 are available for large capital projects, with the total cost of any project to not be more than £750,000. You can apply for funding if you are a voluntary and/or community organisation, school, local authority, not-for-profit organisation or social enterprise. BIG has used the ‘2007 Index of Multiple Deprivation for England’ to decide where to focus the funding. This is a nationally recognised measure of deprivation and takes into account income, crime, employment, health, disability, education, skills and training, housing and the living environment. The data in the Index of Multiple Deprivation is broken down into very small geographical areas known as Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs). They have ranked the 32,000 LSOAs across England from most deprived to least deprived, giving nearly 6,000 eligible LSOAs across England (excluding 145 areas where they have already made a Community Buildings programme award). The LSOAs in the District that are eligible for funding are located in the following Wards; Bulk, Carnforth, Ellel, Harbour, Heysham North, Lower Lune Valley, Overton, Poulton, Skerton East, Skerton West, Upper Lune Valley and Westgate. Even if the building you hope to replace/improve is in one of the above Wards (or even if it isn't!), be sure to check its actual postcode via the 'eligibility checker' on the BIG website (below) as this features the definitive list of areas, and is also where you can download the application form from. www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_reaching_communities?tab=3&regioncode=-uk 12
Lancaster District Third Sector Think Tank Tuesday 11th January 2010, 10.30am-12.00pm Lancaster Library Meeting Room Lancaster District CVS and North Lancashire Citizens Advice are collaborating to establish a District wide Third Sector 'Think Tank'. Please come along if your organisation would like to discuss opportunities to: • share facilities, resources, systems, skills, knowledge and contacts • exchange ideas, methodologies and strategies • achieve greater efficiencies, effectiveness and synergies • develop joint marketing, projects and social enterprise • avoid duplication, miscommunication and insularity gain strength though numbers and commonality of purpose. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss how best to address present economic circumstances and changing needs of local citizens, as a sector. By working together we can achieve more. The objective of the meeting is not to invent a new 'talking shop' but to issue a call-to-action, to establish practical programmes of work that will make a difference in the near future. If you would like to attend this event, please confirm your attendance by emailing janeattfield@lancastercvs.org.uk.
Bevington’s Catering ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Quality Cuisine from Buffets to Banquets Any event – social or corporate All dietary requirements catered for, vegetarian, vegan and organic food a speciality All food home made and locally sourced Sample menus available References provided
Katherine Bevington Telephone: (01524) 37858 Mobile: 07825 578294 www.bevingtonscatering.com Email: bevingtonscatering@hotmail.co.uk
Training & Events For more information about the training and events organised by Lancaster District CVS, see the website www.lancastercvs.org.uk/trainingandevents, or to book email hannahbland@lancastercvs.org.uk
Trustee Induction Session Following the Trustee recruitment event organised by Lancaster District CVS in September, a Trustee induction session is being held on the evening of Thursday 13th January in Lancaster. The aim of the session is to provide an overview of the roles and responsibilities of Trustees (including those for charitable companies), and will also outline support networks for Trustees and what additional / on-going support is available from Lancaster District CVS. If any organisations have recently recruited new Trustees that would benefit from this training session, email janeattfield@lancastercvs.org.uk to book a place.
Volunteer Co-ordinators’ Network Wednesday 19th January 2011, 10.00am-1.00pm Lancaster District CVS, Trinity Community Centre, Middle Street, Lancaster LA1 1JZ
Basic Bookkeeping and Accounts for Small Charities Thursday 20th January 2011, 9.40am-4.30pm Carnforth Civic Hall, North Road, Carnforth LA5 9LJ
Involving and Supporting Long-term This course (in two sessions) will introduce unemployed Volunteers candidates to basic disciplines and techniques necessary to keep accurate and timely financial records within a Charity The Volunteer Co-ordinators Network is open context. It will demonstrate how Microsoft to anyone involved in supporting, Excel could be used as a tool to aid the coordinating or managing volunteers. above. Cost: Free to CVS members, £5 to nonmembers (including lunch)
Cost: £15-40 per session. If you book both sessions, the second session will be half price. 14
Awards for All Workshop
management including managing conflict and managing absence.
Thursday 27th January 2011, 9.30am-12.30pm
This training is essential for anyone who manages paid staff.
Trinity Community Centre, Middle Street, Lancaster LA1 1JZ
Cost: £30-70
To aim of the workshop is to give an overview of the new Awards for All programme Cost: £10-35
Emergency First Aid at Work Thursday 3rd March 2011, 9.30am-4.30pm
Strategic Planning
North West First Aid Ltd, Riverway House, Morecambe Road, Lancaster LA1 2RX
Wednesday 9th February 2011, 9.30am-12.30pm
A Health and Safety Executive approved one-day course
Trinity Community Centre, Middle Street, Lancaster LA1 1JZ
This is the minimum level of first aid training for the workplace, most appropriate for smaller environments that present few health and safety risks.
Are you thinking about the implications of the current political and financial climate for your organisation? Is it time to review your strategic planning?
Cost: £25-50
Lancashire County Council Safeguarding Children, How to avoid Disciplinary Level One and Grievance Situations Thursday 17th March 2011, 9.00am-1.00pm through Performance Old Man’s Rest, Lune Park Children’s Centre, Management Ryelands Park, Owen Road, Lancaster LA1 Cost: £10-35
2LN Thursday 24th February 2011, 9.30am-4.30pm Lancaster District CVS, Trinity Community Centre, Middle Street, Lancaster LA1 1JZ
This accredited training has been designed for people working with children and parents and is intended to highlight the fact that safeguarding is the responsibility of everybody.
Gill Taylor works exclusively on HR issues and has written extensively about HR Cost: £15-40 15
In addition to all of the free services Lancaster District CVS has traditionally offered, we have now launched an expanded range of services, for which there will be a charge, including: • • • • • •
Bookkeeping Payroll Preparation and Independent Examination of Accounts Project Management and Project Hosting Employment / Mentoring Annual Accounts
These services are provided by our own in house staff, so we understand the needs of small and medium sized voluntary and community organisations Discounted rates are available for members, and prices are tiered depending on the size of your organisation and requirements Contact us for a tailored quote via telephone (01524) 555900 or email mail@lancastercvs.org.uk For more information see the full publication at www.lancastercvs.org.uk/services.pdf