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Author Archives: HM Government

Press release: MPs’ outside interests: Committee announces short review

The Committee met today and discussed the subject of MPs’ outside interests.

We will make a further submission on ‘reasonable limits’ for outside interests to the Commons Committee on Standards’ on-going inquiry into the Code of Conduct for MPs. We will be holding a short review to inform our submission. Given the public interest in these issues, we welcome contributions from all interested parties. The Terms of Reference will be available on our website next week.

It is for the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and the House of Commons Committee on Standards to rule on individual cases.

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HM Government • • •

Press release: John Cridland CBE and the Government Actuary’s Department release reports into the future State Pension age

Two reports have been published today that will help inform the government’s review of the State Pension age which is due in May 2017.

The John Cridland report looked at the key issues that drive State Pension age changes including, but not limited to:

  • life expectancy
  • the challenges faced by those who rely most on the State Pension
  • the long-term financial sustainability of the system

The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) was asked to consider 2 alternative scenarios for the State Pension age, reflecting an adult in receipt of the State Pension for either 32% or 33.3% of their projected adult life in retirement. To do this it used figures drawn from life expectancy projections from the Office for National Statistics.

In his report, which will be considered before any decision is made on changes to the State Pension age timetable after 2028, Mr Cridland makes a number of recommendations including:

  • State Pension age should rise to 68 between 2037 and 2039
  • State Pension age should not increase more than 1 year in any 10 year period, assuming that there are no exceptional changes to the data used
  • that all employers should have elder care policies in place which set out a basic care offer
  • that people should be able to access a mid-life career MOT and review which should be facilitated by employers and by the government using online support and through the National Careers Service

Meanwhile, the Government Actuary’s Department report concludes that:

  • under a 32% scenario the State Pension age could rise to 69 between 2040 and 2042
  • under a 33.3% scenario the State Pension age could reach 69 between 2053 and 2055

No new changes to State Pension age will come into effect before 2028 and the government is committed to maintaining a State Pension that is fair for all generations and helps to provide for the cost of living in retirement. Part of this commitment to fairness includes providing 10 years’ notice of any changes to the State Pensions age.

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HM Government • • •

Press release: Trustees of Ipswich Kurdish Islamic Cultural Centre breached their legal duties, regulator finds

The Charity Commission has today (23 March 2017) published a report of its statutory inquiry into the Ipswich Kurdish Islamic Cultural Centre (registered charity number 1149580) (‘the charity’), concluding that there was misconduct and mismanagement in the charity’s administration.

The report sets out multiple failings by the trustees and concludes that the charity’s financial management was poor.

The inquiry, which began in November 2015, found that the trustees:

  • made unauthorised salary payments to one trustee amounting to £1,360, even though the charity’s governing document prohibits the employment of trustees
  • provided a zero interest loan to 2 members of the local community totalling £20,000 which amounted to twice the size of the charity’s 2015 income
  • did not have a safeguarding policy in place despite the fact that the charity operates weekend classes for children

The report also criticises the trustees’ approach to engaging with the Commission, saying that their conduct fell below that which the regulator and the public expect, including by initially failing to take prompt action to address concerns identified by the Commission before it opened the inquiry. Following the opening of the inquiry, and as reflected in the report, the Commission acknowledges improvements in the trustees’ conduct.

As part of the inquiry, the Commission has made an order requiring the trustees to complete a number of actions to address the failings and regulatory concerns identified.

The report states that the regulator will take further regulatory action if the trustees fail to comply with the order within a stated timeframe.

Michelle Russell, Director of Investigations Monitoring and Enforcement at the Charity Commission said:

Our inquiry into the Ipswich Kurdish Islamic Cultural Centre found serious problems and basic failures. As our core guidance, The essential trustee, explains, trustees must comply with their charity’s governing document and the law and must manage their charity’s resources responsibly. That hasn’t always happened at this charity, putting it at risk of not being able to carry out its charitable purposes. I now hope the trustees take the necessary steps we have set out in our Order to improve the charity’s governance in the future.

The full report is available on GOV.UK.

Ends

PR 21/17

Notes to editors

  1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.
  2. Search for charities on our online register.
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HM Government • • •

News story: HS2 Phase One community information events 2017

We invite you to attend one of our community engagement events about Phase One of the High Speed Two (HS2) project and what it means in your local area.

We hope you will take this opportunity to talk to the project team, view maps, and ask us questions, and learn more about the construction and design of the new railway.

Date Venue Time
Wednesday 22 November The Link – Water Orton Community Venue, 4 New Road, Water Orton, B46 1QU 3pm to 5:30pm
Tuesday 28 November Carrs Lane Church Conference Centre, Carrs Lane, Birmingham, B4 7SX 12pm to 2pm
Thursday 30 November Stoke Mandeville Community Centre, Eskdale Road, Stoke Mandeville, Aylesbury, HP22 5UJ 7:30pm to 9:30pm
Thursday 30 November Whittington Village Hall, Langton Crescent, WS14 9LR 5pm to 7pm
Monday 4 December Burton Green Village Hall, Hodgetts Lane, Burton Green, CV8 1PH 4pm to 6pm
Wednesday 6 December Bengali Workers’ Association, Surma Community Centre, 1 Robert Street/Hampstead Road, London, NW1 3JU 5pm to 7pm

Past events will be removed as new events are added.

On 23 February 2017 Royal Assent was granted for Phase One of HS2. Since then, a range of preparatory works have commenced, including archaeological surveys and the creation of new wildlife habitats. We continue to engage with communities affected by the construction of the railway. Find out more about how we’re constructing HS2.

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HM Government