News story: One Public Estate expands to help councils deliver 44,000 jobs and 25,000 homes

One Public Estate expands to help almost three quarters of councils to deliver 44,000 jobs and 25,000 homes through property.

The Cabinet Office and Local Government Association have today announced that a further 79 councils will join the One Public Estate (OPE) programme, bringing the total number of councils participating in OPE to 255 – almost three quarters of all councils in England.

£3.6 million has been allocated to councils across new and existing partnerships on the programme.

The latest funding round means that by 2019 to 20 the partnerships on OPE expect to:

  • create 44,000 jobs
  • release land for 25,000 homes
  • raise £415 million in capital receipts from land and property sales
  • cut running costs by £98 million

The funding will support public sector partnerships to work collaboratively on land and property initiatives, generating new jobs and homes, creating more joined up public services to local communities, and delivering savings for the taxpayer.

OPE remains firmly on track to achieve the ambition of 95% of councils on the programme by 2018, with 72% of councils across England now delivering through OPE.

Ben Gummer, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, said:

One Public Estate is not just about creating savings and collecting land receipts, it also enables the delivery of houses and jobs.

Through this groundbreaking programme, local councils can transform services, unlock significant local growth and crucial efficiency savings through smarter use of property and land.

Lord Porter, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said:

In the drive to get Britain building again it is encouraging to see that over 70% of Councils have now joined the OPE Programme. These councils will strive to collaborate with government and wider public sector bodies to deliver much needed Housing and services at a local level.

Background

One Public Estate is a national programme initially launched in 2013. It is jointly delivered by the Government Property Unit within the Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association. It supports joint working across central and local government to use land and property to boost economic growth, unlock regeneration, and create more integrated public services. It encourages public sector partners to share buildings, transform services, reduce running costs, and release surplus and under-used land for development.

Partnerships joining the programme will receive funding and both practical and technical support from our team to help solve issues and deliver ambitious transformational projects.

Launched in 2013, One Public Estate has grown from the original pilot scheme of 12 councils to 264, all delivering ambitious projects to meet local needs.

Following on from the successful pilot stages, it was announced in the Autumn Statement 2015 that One Public Estate would receive £31 million to further expand the programme.

A further application window for councils wishing to join One Public Estate will be open in April 2017. To find out more about the programme, email onepublicestate@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.



News story: Accelerator face-to-face meetings

An opportunity to book a meeting with the Defence and Security Accelerator team to discuss your research idea.

The Accelerator is holding a series of 30-minute face-to-face meetings across the UK to give you the opportunity to discuss your innovative research idea in private.

Meeting slots will be announced for Newcastle shortly, while other meetings will be arranged at different locations across the year.

The Accelerator focuses on innovations which can provide advantage to defence and national security to protect the UK from its adversaries. It funds the development of suppliers’ innovative ideas and provides support through to potential application. This is through the enduring competition or specific themed competitions.

Before you come to your meeting please prepare by thinking about:

  • what is your research idea?
  • what do you think is the military benefit? will it save time/costs, improve capability/performance/reliability? why should MOD invest in this work?
  • what will your approach be? how will you structure your research?
  • what will you deliver? what evidence will you produce?
  • what will the impact of your research be? how will you demonstrate progress towards the claimed benefit?

The main purpose of this meeting is for you to ask questions, and most importantly, receive advice from the team, so please leave time for this during your 30 minutes.

Spaces will be on a first-come, first-served basis and an organisation should only register once.



Government response: Citizen Go’s campaign about Marie Stopes International (MSI)

The Department of Health’s response to the Citizen Go campaign about Marie Stopes International (MSI).

Ministers agree that Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections and reports have raised considerable concern about compliance by Marie Stopes International (MSI) clinics with requirements set by the Department of Health and the CQC.

Findings of non-compliance related both to practices in the clinics inspected and at a corporate level and were so serious that they led to the suspension of certain services provided by MSI until steps were taken to ensure that these issues had been resolved to the satisfaction of the CQC. The CQC also issued 4 warning notices to MSI in response to regulatory breaches around ‘consent’, ‘safeguarding’, ‘care and treatment’ and ‘governance’, as well as a number of ‘requirement notices’ to support improvement.

The CQC considered MSI to have made sufficient progress and allowed services to be resumed from 7 October 2016. The CQC continues to monitor the progress of MSI and plans to inspect its centres and UK administrative offices again in the near future to ensure that ongoing improvements are made and maintained. The re-inspections will determine exactly how embedded the improvements have been.

The CQC has made clear that it will not hesitate to take further action, if necessary, to guarantee that MSI meets the standard of care it expects and that its patients deserve.

The Department continues to monitor the situation, with particular regard to the statutory approval responsibilities of the Secretary of State.



News story: The first English EMFF FLAG launch events get underway

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) supports launch event.

The MMO is delighted to support the launch events of two of our European Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs) over the next few days.

The launch events mark the next stage in the process after each of the successful English FLAGs were issued £800,000 under the EMFF scheme to deliver their community led local development strategies in England. The MMO is pleased to be able to attend both events.

Holderness FLAG will hold their launch event on 27 January 2017 at The Spa, Bridlington and Hastings FLAG will launch on 30 January 2017 at The Stade, Hastings.

Commenting on the FLAG launches Andrew Wells (MMO Board Member) said:

“It is very rewarding for the MMO to see Holderness and Hastings formally launch their FLAGs, knowing that they will use the knowledge of local stakeholders to tackle fisheries issues at a local level.

The journey the FLAGs have taken from application to refinement to panel has been a challenging one and it is a testament to the FLAGs that they were successful in securing EMFF funding. They can now use that funding to benefit fisheries communities.

I very much enjoyed reading about the Holderness FLAG journey to this point on our marine developments blog and I am looking forward to attending the Hastings FLAG launch in person on 30 January 2017.”



Press release: Interim Manager appointed: Support the Heroes

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Support the Heroes (registered charity number 1155853) and appointed an interim manager to run the charity. The inquiry was opened on 10 November 2016.

The charity has objects to support those serving or who have served in the Armed Forces. The charity currently furthers its objects by making grants to other charities.

The regulator opened the inquiry following its investigation into a number of complaints about the charity, in particular about its fundraising activities. The Commission has serious concerns about an agreement that the charity has entered with a commercial fundraising company. It is particularly concerned about the transparency of the charity’s fundraising arrangements and the ability of the public to make an informed decision about donating to the charity. The regulator is also examining the charity’s governance arrangements and the ability of the trustees to avoid or manage potential conflicts of interest. The Commission is also liaising with the Fundraising Regulator about its concerns with the charity’s fundraising practices.

As a result of these serious concerns the Commission ordered the trustees not to part with any of the charity’s property on 11 November 2016, as well as directing them to cease all fundraising while it conducts further investigations. The Commission froze the charity’s and subsidiary’s bank accounts on 18 November 2016.

The Commission appointed Brian Johnson of HW Fisher & Company as interim manager on 9 December 2016 to assist the Commission in swiftly addressing its regulatory concerns. The interim manager is appointed with all the powers and duties of a trustee and will act to the exclusion of the current charity trustees. This is a temporary appointment and will be reviewed on a regular basis in line with normal procedures.

The inquiry will examine the administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees, in particular the extent to which the trustees have:

  • ensured that conflicts of interest in the charity and its subsidiary have been adequately avoided or managed
  • acted in the charity’s best interests and acted in accordance with their legal duties
  • responsibly managed the charity’s resources and acted with reasonable care and skill in respect of its fundraising agreement with a professional fundraiser and associated risks to the charity’s property
  • adequately protected the charity’s reputation and managed significant risks to public trust and confidence in the charity especially with regards to the conduct and reporting of fundraising activities conducted by the charity or on its behalf

The charity’s trustees have filed an appeal with the First-tier Tribunal (Charity) challenging the regulator’s decision to appoint an interim manager.

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 its website.

The charity’s details can be viewed on the Commission’s online charity search tool.

Ends

PR 05/17

Notes to editors

  1. The charity was featured in the programme ‘The Great Military Charity Scandal’ which was broadcast on BBC One Scotland at 19:00, Tuesday 8 November 2016.

  2. Fundraising is subject to a self-regulatory system. The Fundraising Regulator regulates all types of fundraising by charities based in England and Wales and adjudicate concerns and complaints about fundraising against the Code of Fundraising Practice. The Commission does however have a role in fundraising regulation where there is evidence that trustee actions or failings, in fulfilling their duties towards their charity, pose a serious risk to the charity or where it is identified that there is a serious risk to charitable funds, or to public trust and confidence.

  3. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.

  4. Search for charities on our online register.

  5. 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.

  6. The Commission’s decision to announce the opening of a statutory inquiry is based on whether it is in the public interest to do so and with consideration of our objective to increase public trust and confidence in charities.