Inquiry opened into Barry Green Memorial Fund following governance and financial management concerns

Press release

Investigation of charity’s accounts prompts further inquiry by charity watchdog

The Charity Commission has opened an inquiry into the Barry Green Memorial Fund (1000492), due to concerns that there has been misconduct and/or mismanagement at the grant-making charity.

The charity’s purposes include rescuing and supporting animals that have been cruelly treated.

The Commission previously opened a double defaulters’ class inquiry case into the charity on 9 December 2019, to examine its failure to file its accounts on time twice. During this work the Commission found several other regulatory concerns about the charity’s governance, including potential unmanaged conflicts of interest, and concerns over the charity’s financial management.

This new inquiry will examine the concerns identified at the charity, including:

the extent to which the trustees are complying with their legal duties in respect of the administration, governance and management of the charity, and particularly their financial accounting responsibilities
the extent to which any failing or weaknesses identified in the administration of the charity during the inquiry were the result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees
the extent to which the trustees responsibly managed the charity’s resources and financial affairs, and particularly how they have managed conflicts of interest

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues are identified.

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 GOV.UK.

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Published 1 May 2020

Testing available for council workers

Press release

Local Government Secretary thanks councils in England for their support during the pandemic and outlines how staff can get tested.

All essential workers with symptoms of coronavirus can now be tested thanks to increased capacity – enabling them return to work if results are negative
This includes council workers such as those working in social care, benefits payments or with vulnerable people
Local Government Secretary has written to all councils thanking their staff and setting out how they and their households can get tested

Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP has today (1 May 2020) written to all councils in England thanking them for their efforts in the battle against coronavirus and reminding them of their eligibility for testing.

With substantially increased testing capacity, the government has extended testing to a wider group of essential workers and members of their households.

This means that council workers with symptoms of coronavirus are now able to be tested for the virus, and can return to work if the results are negative.

Those eligible in the local government sector include:

Social care staff such as social and care workers – with social care workers in care homes able to get tested with or without symptoms
Those delivering essential public services, such as benefits payments
Those working with vulnerable children and adults, victims of domestic abuse, homeless people and rough sleepers

Local Government Secretary, Robert Jenrick MP said:

The unsung heroes in local government are supporting communities across the country during the pandemic, from helping vulnerable people to ensuring our bins are collected.

We’ve expanded the national testing programme to prioritise essential workers such as council staff who are keeping the country going.

Booking the test has been made easier through a new online system.

Essential workers can book a test if they are experiencing symptoms – a high temperature or new continuous cough – at one of the more than 42 drive-through testing centres across the country, or receive a home testing kit.

Test results from the drive-through sites will be sent out by text within 48 hours and within 72 hours of collection of the home delivery tests.

Read the letter from the Local Government Secretary.
The aim is that most people should not have to drive for more than 45 minutes to get to a regional testing site. However, additional testing methods are being rolled-out to support testing accessibility:
- A network of new mobile testing units is being rapidly established to travel the country to reach care homes, police stations, prisons and other sites where there is demand for testing. The units have been designed to clinical requirements by Army engineers and can be easily set up in under 20 minutes.
- A delivery service for home testing kits has been designed with key industry partners, including Royal Mail and Amazon. The availability of home testing kits will initially be limited, but more will become available soon. This will ensure those not able to travel to a test centre can still take the test, find out their results and return to work if possible.
- The response to coronavirus is a national effort. The government is working collaboratively across the four nations to ensure the take up of testing among essential workers. Each of the devolved administrations will have their own eligibility criteria and testing priorities, however the government is working closely to align approaches.
- We are testing social care workers and residents in care homes (with or without symptoms) both to investigate outbreaks and, following successful pilots, as part of a rolling programme to test all care homes.

Published 1 May 2020
Last updated 1 May 2020 + show all updates

1 May 2020
First published.

COVID-19: testing for council workers

Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)
If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times
Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Do not meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.

2 arrested after raid on Lincolnshire illegal waste site

2 people have been arrested in a raid on an illegal waste site the size of a football pitch in Lincolnshire yesterday.

Environment Agency officers and Lincolnshire Police also seized an excavator and a lorry which were actively depositing more waste at the site on Fen Lane, Long Bennington, when officers arrived.

The move comes after intelligence revealed that lorry-loads of waste, including plastics, commercial waste and household furniture were being accepted onto the site and burned illegally.

The smoke from the burning waste piles – some of which were the size of bungalows – was having a significant impact on local people and putting the environment at risk.

Environment officers observed this activity intensifying in recent weeks – despite the strict lockdown conditions while the country battles Coronavirus – and took action to bring it to a halt.

The site has been subject to ongoing investigations for illegal waste activity while successive businesses have taken over operations before going bust.

Officers last visited the site at the end of January, arriving unannounced with police and planning enforcement officers from Lincolnshire County Council to carry out a full regulatory inspection.

But now legal notices have been issued, all entrances to the site have been blocked off, and activity on the site has been halted.

Norman Robinson, Area Director for the Environment Agency, said:

It’s our job to protect people and nature even in these uncertain times, which is why our regulatory and enforcement work continues while we adhere to the government’s guidelines around coronavirus.

Deliberately stockpiling and burning waste that should be safely disposed of is dangerous enough, but doing so in the current situation while people and legitimate businesses are so restricted shows a shocking disregard for our communities, society and the environment.

This should serve as a warning to those who would flout not just the law, but the lockdown – we and our partners are still fighting to put a stop to waste crime and we won’t hesitate to take action.

Chief Inspector Phil Vickers, Local Policing, Lincolnshire Police, said:

Lincolnshire Police have supported this Environment Agency led operation on a site that was causing harm to the local community, to the environment and to legitimate businesses who operate responsibly and lawfully. We will work with partners and continue to enforce against offenders who operate illegally during the lockdown period and to protect our rural communities.

Responsible waste management is everyone’s responsibility – we work with the EA, County Council and all of the District Councils across Lincolnshire to protect our countryside and to keep rural communities safe, we are grateful for the support from Long Bennington residents in ensuring this large-scale site could be subject to enforcement today.

Joint investigations will continue and the Environment Agency will continue to monitor the impacts of the site and work with partners to ensure the waste is removed. If convicted as a result of legal action, those responsible could face extensive fines and even prison sentences.

Anyone who suspects illegal waste activity is reminded to report it to our 24-hour hotline by calling 0800 80 70 60, or anonymously contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Earlier this year the Environment Agency and partners launched the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, aiming to stop serious and organised crime in the UK Waste Industry. You can find out more about the initiative on our website.

PCA Statement – Update on Support for Tied Pub Tenants in Relation to COVID-19

News story

The PCA has reported on its ongoing engagement with the regulated pub-owning businesses about how they are supporting their tenants in line with Pubs Code obligations.

On 6 April the PCA called on the six regulated pub-owning businesses to demonstrate how they propose to support all of their tied tenants through the COVID-19 emergency.

We have made clear to pub-owning businesses that the Pubs Code remains in place, as do their specific statutory duties requiring fair and lawful dealing with their tied tenants. Now more than ever these principles require a fair and transparent approach by pub-owning businesses with their tenants.

It is imperative that pub-owning businesses do as much as they can to help their tied tenants. We have challenged each pub-owning business to show how it is being fair both in its approach to rent and in making arrangements for ensuring as far as possible that every tenant is able to return to trading and profitability after lockdown. To that end, the PCA has told each pub-owning business that is expected is to start from a clear and consistent methodology for how it will support its tenants, and to be open about their approach so that individual tenants know what treatment they can expect. And we have stressed the importance of the Pubs Code requirements in regulation 41 to record and agree conversations with tenants.

The PCA is also concerned to ensure that the financial stresses caused by the COVID-19 lockdown do not translate into inequalities of risk and reward in the regulated sector once pubs reopen.

Published 1 May 2020