In the news last week...

Charities and other bodies urge regulator to help solve sleep-in care crisis

A group of 34 organisations ask the Charity Commission to lobby the government on a crisis (reported in the policy update on 14/11/17) that some say could cost the care sector £400m. A letter from about half of all organisations that provide care services to people with learning disabilities in the UK, calls on the Commission to protect charities financially and asks the government to fund sleep-in care back pay. Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, says the government recognises the challenges for charities to pay up to six years of back-pay to sleep-in care workers and is working on a solution.

A recent report shows how small charities are often unable to demonstrate their value to communities

A report, The Value of Small, by the Lloyds Bank Foundation, says that small charities deliver significant value to their local communities, the economy and local authorities, but many struggle to measure and demonstrate their impact to funders. The report, examines 16 charities in a range of income brackets from four areas across England and Wales: Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire, Ealing in west London, Salford in Greater Manchester and Wrexham, north Wales.

Mandy Johnson, Chief Executive of the Small Charities Coalition, tells Civil Society news that small charities are often perceived unfairly in an underdog role. While this may be true when it comes to resources, it isn’t true when it comes to impact. “I’ve seen so much good those small charities do,” she says. “I think they could be portrayed better in the media and perceived more valuably by the government’’ – read the full article here.

£20 million for charities to tackle loneliness 

The Prime Minister has announced £20m of funding for charities and community groups to tackle loneliness. Theresa May said the government had established an £11m Building Connections Fund, which is expected to open for applications in July, with a further £9m of loneliness funds being made available directly from the People’s Postcode Lottery and the Health Lottery, which are providing £5m and £4m respectively. The £11m fund comprises £5m from both government and the Big Lottery Fund and a further £1m from the Co-operative Foundation.