Latest news with #charities
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Samaritans closures show brutal reality of financial crisis for UK charities
A week ago the voluntary sector was being love-bombed by ministers at launch of the civil society covenant, an agreement designed to cement the role of charities in the government's economic growth plans and social renewal mission At one level, it was a heady moment of optimism for a sector used to being patronised and ignored. A few days later, news that the mental health charity Samaritans is to close about half of its 200 branches over the next few years was a reminder of the cold, hard economic reality gripping much of the sector. Samaritans is just the latest household name UK charity to take drastic action to stave off financial crisis. In recent months Macmillan Cancer Support has axed a quarter of its staff and cut millions in hardship grants; the disability charity Scope has cut a fifth of its workforce; at Oxfam GB 265 roles are at risk; 550 jobs will go at the National Trust; and the counselling charity Relate was rescued from administration having cut a third of its staff. This is just the most visible tip of the iceberg: thousands of less high-profile charities are shedding jobs and cutting back services, considering mergers, or in some cases shutting their doors. The prime minister paid tribute last week to the 'incredible work of charities' but much of that work exists on fragile ground. At the root of the crisis in the voluntary sector is what commentators call a 'perfect storm' – a brutal confluence of negative economic and social factors. A decade of austerity cuts merged into the pandemic, followed rapidly by the still lingering cost of living crisis with its high inflation and soaring energy prices. Demand rose for charities as a result – in simple terms, there were vastly more people coming to them for help whether for a food parcel, a hostel bed for the night or to get mental health advice and therapy. At the same time income has shrunk: state funding has fallen away, donations have flatlined, and national insurance bills rocketed. Even Macmillan, with one of the slickest fundraising machines in the business, raising over £230m a year, could not keep up with demand. For several years it rode out the crisis by drawing down tens of millions of pounds a year from reserves to fix the holes in its balance sheet – a practice it has now declared unsustainable. Samaritans is tight lipped about the cash savings it wants to make but its published accounts show that spending has exceeded income for each of the last three years and it has struggled to bring costs down. At the same time, its income from state-funded grants and contracts, and from its charitable activities, has fallen. A conventional business might see rationalising the charity's 201 branches across the UK and Ireland as a no-brainer. Lower overheads, and perhaps a windfall from asset sales. Couple this with the rise in mobile technology and AI – with more people working from home since the Covid pandemic – and why keep all this costly bricks and mortar? Charities are not conventional businesses, however: Samaritans is largely run by passionate volunteers, their focus often hyper-local, immersed in community cameraderie, support networks and face-to-face relationships. The prospect of speaking to suicidal callers in remote call centres or at home appalls. As one Samaritans volunteer who contacted the Guardian put it: 'It's a funny organisation, like a cross between an emergency service and the WI [women's institute): life and death and ginger biscuits.' Volunteers were understandably upset, they added: 'If you run a service which callers use because they're dying of lack of human contact, closing and automating it seems a little odd.' In this environment staff and volunteerscan feel abandoned by what they see as the out-of-touch corporate centres of large charities. Ire is directed against big managerial salaries, expensive rebrands, fancy HQs, and a spreadsheet culture perceived to be out of step with core charity values. In charity boardrooms, the harsh reality is expenditure cannot exceed income for too long. Charities continue to be overwhelmed by overflow of demand from decaying public services and rising poverty. As ever, the people most at risk are charities' beneficiaries: the poor and desperate relying on charity to survive.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Ministers urged not to remove legal rights and protections for Send children
The Government must not remove or dilute legal rights and protections for children with special educational needs and disabilities, a coalition of charities and parent organisations has urged. The plea comes as ministers have failed to rule out slashing education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – which set out the specialist support a young person requires for their needs. The Disabled Children's Partnership (DCP), which includes more than 130 charities and parent groups, has called on the Government not to restrict access to EHCPs for those who continue to need them. The Government plans to publish a white paper in the autumn detailing how it will reform support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). Earlier this month, education minister Stephen Morgan could not guarantee that the current system of EHCPs would remain in place. ECHPs are legal documents for children and young people up to the age of 25 which identify their educational, health and social needs, and set out the extra support required. A report by the DCP said the rise in EHCPs can be used as evidence the system is 'too expensive for councils' to provide, but it suggested more nurseries, schools and colleges are applying for plans because the support children need 'is not happening without them'. It said every child who needs Send support should have a 'written record' setting out the support they need and how it will be monitored. 'The Government must not dilute existing rights and protections, or restrict access to education, health and care plans for those who continue to need them,' the report added. In total, there were 638,745 EHCPs in place in January, up 10.8% on the same point last year. The number of new plans which started during 2024 also grew by 15.8% on the previous year, to 97,747. Requests for children to be assessed for EHCPs rose by 11.8% to 154,489 in 2024. The coalition's report outlines five key areas the Government should address if young people with Send are to enjoy the same 'ordinary things' in life that their peers take for granted. The Government should ensure there is 'legally guaranteed support' for every child who needs it with the current Send support arrangements put on a statutory footing, the DCP has said. The coalition has also called for more funding for the Send system and for every local area to have a plan for ensuring there is the 'right mix' of mainstream and specialist placements. The report said: 'This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make children and families' lives better. 'But getting this wrong would make it even harder for families to get the support their children so desperately need.' It added that many parents of children with Send are having to turn to the law to enforce their child's rights at tribunal and they may have spent years without the support they need. The report said: 'The solution to this is not to remove or dilute legal rights and protections; the Government must ensure proper accountability for meeting legal duties.' Anna Bird, chairwoman of the DCP and chief executive of charity Contact, said: 'Children with Send want ordinary things – a place to learn safely, the opportunity to take part in after-school activities and the chance for parents to work to support their children, rather than having to put their working lives on hold. ' She added: 'Our Fight for Ordinary campaign launches today and the report sets out how to make the changes children with Send need, without diluting their rights or removing vital protections. 'This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get it right for children with Send. 'The Government will only get reforms right if they work together with young people, parents and the organisations that represent them.' Tobias Lambe, from Warwickshire, who is autistic and faced a fight to get an EHCP at school, is now at university studying medicine. He said: 'At the age of 14 I had a mental health breakdown and was admitted to hospital. 'I never dreamed that seven years later I would be thriving at university studying a course I love, playing sports, making friends and enjoying life. 'But it's taken a huge fight and countless battles with schools, healthcare providers and local authorities for me to achieve that. 'Not every family is able to fight that battle, and none should have to.' The 21-year-old added: 'Children and young people who are disabled and neurodivergent should not have to face a constant fight for a suitable education or the right healthcare. 'These are ordinary things to which everyone is entitled.' A Department for Education (DfE) spokeswoman said: 'This Government inherited a Send system left on its knees – which is why we are listening closely to families as we work to make sure more children can thrive in their local school, putting an end to parents having to fight to get support that should be routine. 'Our priority is improving outcomes for children and young people with Send which is why the Education Secretary has been clear that there will always be a legal right to additional support for children with Send. 'We are already making progress, from more early intervention in mainstream schools across ADHD, autism and speech and language needs, through to £740 million investment to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools. 'As part of our Plan for Change, we will restore the confidence of families up and down the country and deliver the improvement they are crying out for, so every child can achieve and thrive.'
CNA
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNA
Trump says he doesn't draw, in relation to Epstein letter, but auctioned sketches suggest otherwise
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has publicly denied that he draws, but numerous examples of his sketches have been sold at auction over the years, many dating from his time as a New York real estate developer, the New York Times said on Friday (Jul 18). Drawings attributed to Trump, typically simple cityscapes or landmarks rendered in black marker and signed with his name, were donated to various charities in the early 2000s and have fetched thousands of dollars in later sales, the paper added. In his 2008 book "Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges Into Success", however, Trump acknowledged his artistic contributions. The focus on drawings comes as President Trump is under pressure, including from his supporters, to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. The Justice Department had announced last week it would not release any more evidence about the sex trafficking investigation into Epstein, who killed himself behind bars while awaiting trial in 2019. TRUMP SUING WSJ OVER EPSTEIN LETTER LINK On Thursday, reporting by the Wall Street Journal described a sexually suggestive letter and an explicit drawing that the newspaper says bore Trump's name, which was included in a 2003 album for Epstein's 50th birthday. Trump denied writing the letter, calling it 'false, malicious, and defamatory.' "I don't draw pictures," Trump wrote on Truth Social this week, disputing a Wall Street Journal report about a 2003 birthday greeting for late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that bore Trump's name and featured a sexually suggestive drawing.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Two UK charities donate millions to Israeli settlement in occupied West Bank
Two UK charities have transferred millions of pounds to an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank with the endorsement of the charities regulator, the Guardian can reveal. Documents show that the Kasner Charitable Trust (KCT), via a conduit charity, UK Toremet, has donated approximately £5.7m to the Bnei Akiva Yeshiva high school in Susya, in the Israeli-occupied territory. As the budget of the school increased significantly as a result of the donations, the number of pupils, employees at the school and Susya residents have all increased. Dror Etkes, an expert on Israeli settlement, said: 'The school is likely the largest single source of employment in the settlement, and constitutes one of the main elements of the entire settlement's existence.' Susya was established in or around 1983, south of Hebron, adjacent to and impinging on the pre-existing Palestinian village of Khirbet Susiya (commonly known as just Susiya). In 1986, the Israeli authorities declared the main residential area of Susiya an archaeological site and evicted all of its residents, according to Amnesty International. In March, settlers launched an attack on the Susiya home of Hamdan Ballal, one of the directors of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. In 2016 the Charity Commission wrote to UK Toremet saying: 'A donation to a school in the occupied territories would be a donation for the advancement of education and therefore on the face of it a legitimate grant for UK Toremet to make.' The former Conservative party chair Sayeeda Warsi said: 'It's appalling that any British national should be engaged in funding illegal settlements on occupied land – and it's even more disturbing that this is being subsidised by all of us taxpayers. 'I'm sure the vast majority of my colleagues in Westminster will share my outrage that the Charity Commission is greenlighting these donations. Serious action must be taken so that settlements which are illegal under international law, and at the heart of a regime of discrimination and displacement, cannot benefit from charitable donations.' Andy McDonald, a Labour MP and a solicitor, said: 'The government must urgently take the steps necessary to ban the use of funds originating from the UK being used to support any aspect of the illegal occupation and ensure the Charity Commission is in no doubt about its duty in preventing such transfers and having the powers to do so. 'Donations to illegal settlements should invalidate charitable status and result in individual prosecutions. If legislation is needed, we must do it.' Concerns have previously been raised about charitable donations from the UK to Israeli settlements but this is believed to be the first time there has been a definitive paper trail of a major transfer of funds to an illegal settlement. In a written answer in parliament in 2015, the government said the Charity Commission, which covers England and Wales, had written to UK Toremet's trustees 'and will be meeting them to review … [its] governance, policies, procedures and operational activity'. The following year the commission confirmed it had an 'open case' and that UK Toremet had been issued with 'an action plan' and its compliance was being monitored. The £5.7m of donations were made subsequently, between 2017 and 2021. When the law firm Hickman & Rose contacted the commission about them in 2022 it replied that the issues raised were not within its regulatory role as they involved allegations of war crimes and advised the solicitors to report the matter to the police. The lawyers accordingly approached the counter-terrorism command, SO15, about individuals within the two charities. SO15 responded in March this year that it would not be pursuing a criminal investigation, based on reasons that the lawyers plan to contest, but said it would be highlighting the UK position on illegal settlements to the commission 'with our concerns'. A Charity Commission spokesperson said: 'We know this is a highly contentious issue about which there are strongly held opposing views. The commission can only operate within our legal framework, and the fact that a charity operates in the occupied Palestinian territories does not in itself constitute a criminal offence or breach of charity law.' It said it referred all potential criminal matters to the relevant law enforcement body, adding: 'Given the complex legal issues in relation to international law we are in the process of seeking renewed specialist advice from the attorney general.' A UK Toremet spokesperson said it was 'not driven by any political or ideological agenda: and grants were made within the scope of English charity law', highlighting the 2016 letter from the commission about educational donations. A KCT spokesperson questioned whether the settlement was illegal. Before ending the call, he said the donation was for a 'religious school, not for settlement purposes', denied KCT was in any way encouraging the settlement and said the commission had 'cleared' the donations.
BreakingNews.ie
18-07-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
UK spent up to €9m keeping Irish pensioners warm last winter
More than 26,000 pensioners in Ireland received fuel allowance payments from the British government last year, worth up to €9 million, new figures have revealed. Individuals in receipt of a UK state pension are eligible for the annual Winter Fuel Payment, regardless of where they live. Those aged under 80 receive £200 (€231), while older pensioners are paid £300 (€346). Advertisement A total of 34,300 recipients were located outside the United Kingdom last year – more than 76 per cent of whom were living in Ireland, according to data released by the British Department of Work and Pensions under freedom of information laws. The payments were worth between €6 million and €9 million, depending on the rate of allowance payable in each case. The country with the next-highest number of residents in receipt of a British state pension was Germany, where 2,190 were paid the fuel allowance last winter. Another 1,630 lived in Italy, and 780 were in Bulgaria. The number of Irish recipients fell by around 5.5 per cent last year after eligibility rules changed, linking the allowance to other benefits paid to those on low incomes, such as pension credit. Advertisement However, the British government rowed back on this decision following criticism by charities, unions and MPs; and universal eligibility has been restored for this winter – although those earning more than £35,000 (€40,410) will have the payment clawed back through taxation. The 26,230 individuals who received the British Winter Fuel Payment in Ireland last year included Irish citizens who previously worked in the UK, making them eligible for the British state pension – often in addition to the Irish state pension. They also include British citizens who may have relocated here. Unlike its UK counterpart, the Irish fuel allowance benefit is means-tested and payable only to pensioners earning less than €524 a week. If they also receive the British Winter Fuel Payment, this is assessed as income in the means test.
