Press release: Sports charity investigated by Charity Commission

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Dream It Believe It Achieve It, a charity working to advance the physical education of children and young people and to relieve disability. The investigation was opened on 5 January 2017.

The Commission has been engaging with the charity since March 2014, after concerns were raised about its fundraising activities. The inquiry follows on from this engagement and will examine:

  • the administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees, including its financial controls
  • the charity’s relationship with connected companies and whether these relationships are in the best interests of the charity
  • transactions between the charity and companies connected to the trustees and former trustees, and whether any unauthorised benefits have been received

The Commission stresses that opening an inquiry is not in itself a finding of wrong doing. The purpose of an inquiry is to examine issues in detail and investigate and establish the facts so that the regulator can ascertain whether there has been misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the charity; establish the extent of the risk to the charity’s property, beneficiaries or work; decide what action needs to be taken to resolve the serious concerns, if necessary using its protective and remedial powers to do so.

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 registered number is 1153116. Its details can be viewed on the Commission’s check charity tool.

Ends

PR 70/17

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 check charity tool.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.


Press release: September 2017 Transaction Data

The Transaction Data shows HM Land Registry completed 1,586,987 applications from its customers in September. This included 1,562,821 applications by account holders, of which:

  • Transaction Data is published on the 15th working day of each month. The October Transaction Data will be published at 11am on Tuesday 21 November 2017 at HM Land Registry Monthly Property Transaction Data.

  • The monthly Transaction Data shows how many applications for first registrations, leases, transfers of part, dealings, official copies and searches lodged by HM Land Registry account customers were completed. For an explanation of the terms used, see abbreviations used in the transaction data.

  • Transactions for value include freehold and leasehold sales.

  • Most searches carried out by a solicitor or conveyancer are to protect the purchase and/or mortgage. For example, a search will give the buyer priority for an application to HM Land Registry to register the purchase of the property.

  • As a government department established in 1862, executive agency and trading fund responsible to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, HM Land Registry keeps and maintains the Land Register for England and Wales. The Land Register has been open to public inspection since 1990.

  • With the largest transactional database of its kind detailing more than 25 million titles, HM Land Registry underpins the economy by safeguarding ownership of many billions of pounds worth of property.

  • For further information about HM Land Registry visit www.gov.uk/land-registry

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    • Press release: DRC: UK provides urgent lifesaving aid to victims of escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo

    The International Development Secretary Priti Patel has called for the international community to act now and not forget the millions of people displaced by increasing levels of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

    Ms Patel’s call came as she announced vital lifesaving support for hundreds of thousands of victims of political insecurity and increasing levels of violence in the DRC.

    The crisis has forced 3.8 million people to flee their homes, resulting in widespread malnutrition, disease and suffering in many regions of the DRC.

    Ms Patel also called on international partners and the UN system to follow the UK’s lead and urgently step up support to this crisis, to prevent further unnecessary destruction and human suffering.

    Over the next five years DFID’s humanitarian support will provide:

    • over 620,000 people with food assistance
    • 220,000 children under the age of 5 with vital nutrition
    • over 1.1 million people with access to clean drinking water
    • 900,000 with essential health care such as drugs for pregnant mothers
    • over 195,000 children with access to education
    • 12,000 survivors of trauma including gender based violence with psychosocial support and counselling

    The International Development Secretary Priti Patel said:

    Millions of innocent people are suffering from malnutrition and disease after being forced to flee their homes because of the horrific violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    Families have been separated, homes destroyed and people are living in desperate conditions, in what is fast becoming one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

    The UK government has not hesitated to act and is leading the way by providing essential food, water and medicine, but it is vital the international community also urgently steps up to ensure the displaced people of the DRC are not forgotten.

    • This support is an allocation of £175 million for humanitarian aid from the DRC budget.

    • The DRC has the highest number of internally displaced people in Africa with 3.8 million forced to flee malnutrition, disease, violence and insecurity to find safety in other parts of the country. In the first six months of 2017 the DRC had the greatest number of newly displaced people in the world.

    • 7.7 million people in the DRC don’t have reliable access to their next meal, 1.9 million children are suffering from life threatening malnutrition, and outbreaks of cholera, measles and malaria are exacerbating the situation.

    • The UK is a major humanitarian donor in the DRC. Over the past five years (2012-2017) we have provided £168 million to the response, which has included:
      • Emergency food support for over 125,000 children under 5
      • Support for over 11,000 women and girls who have been victims of sexual or gender based violence, including psychosocial therapy
      • Income support for over 62,000 of the poorest households (360,000 people)
      • Access to safe water for over 2.1 million people
      • Education for 4,000 internally displaced children in DRC

    • Since the start of the crisis in the Kasais in 2016 DFID has supported displaced and affected people with household items, livelihood support, and provided support through the Humanitarian Fund for distribution of aid and protection monitoring.

    • DFID has also provided additional funding of £4.6 million for the Kasais in July of this year supporting UNICEF’s Rapid Response to Movements of Population mechanism for the Kasais. This is allowing UNICEF and their partners to provide:
      • 50,000 people with items such as blankets, soap, buckets for fetching water and clothes plus access to adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities and health care
      • 4,000 children with vital nutritional support
      • Protection and support for 7,000 children affected by violence


    Press release: Welsh SMEs urged to seize new UK government backed export finance opportunity

    Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns will call on Welsh SMEs to capitalise on new UK Government backed finance to help gain access to global growth markets when he attends the Fast Growth 50 awards this evening (20 October 2017).

    Mr Cairns will deliver a keynote speech at the 19th Fast Growth 50 gala dinner in Cardiff, where the best of Welsh entrepreneurship and the fastest growing businesses in Wales will be showcased.

    The Secretary of State will highlight a new £2million UK Export Finance (UKEF) partnership with five High Street banks designed to enable SMEs in Wales to access support directly from their bank in seconds, without the need to apply separately.

    The fund will help businesses like those on the Fast Growth 50 list, become part of major export contracts around the world.

    Since its inception in 1999, the 551 companies that have featured on the Fast Growth 50 lists have so far created over 34,000 jobs and generated an estimated £18 billion for the Welsh economy.

    Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

    The Fast Growth 50 ceremony is a key date in the Welsh business calendar. It presents a welcome opportunity to reflect over the year that has passed, and to celebrate the many successes that businesses have worked tirelessly to create.

    So many of the companies that have decorated the FG50 rosters over the years are now delivering services and exporting their products right around the globe.

    The UK Government wants to do more to ensure Welsh businesses take advantage of every opportunity available to them to grow and expand into new markets.

    The support provided by UK Export Finance is a valuable resource for businesses throughout the whole of the UK, Wales included. Unleashing the potential of companies such as those we will celebrate this evening will be key to ensuring the Welsh economy continues to prosper.

    Wales is already an exporting nation. There are currently more than 3,800 businesses in Wales that export, with a combined value of £13billion in the first quarter of 2017. Wales is also an attractive place for inward investment, with latest figures showing that 85 foreign direct investment projects were secured in Wales, creating 2,581 new jobs and safeguarding almost 9,000 more.

    The Secretary of State for Wales has recently written to over 26,000 Welsh businesses identified as potential exporters including a copy to the Wales Export Guide. The Wales specific guide sets out the full range of support available to Welsh businesses from the UK Government and contains inspiring stories of companies based in Wales that are successfully exporting. You can read the guide online here.

    Notes to editors

    • For further information on the Fast Growth 50 awards, visit their website

    • Read more about the UK Export Finance fund here



    News story: Government announces fund to revolutionise airport screening

    Holidaymakers could be spared the hassle of removing laptops and tablets from hand-luggage when passing through airport security, as government seeks to revolutionise aviation screening.

    The government is today (20 October 2017) announcing a £3 million fund to support innovative research to develop new ways of detecting explosive devices concealed in electrical items.

    Companies and universities are invited to bid for money by submitting proposals for original research in the field of concealed explosives. And new methods of detecting whether electrical items have been tampered with or appear irregular are also of interest.

    The proposals can focus on either screening electrical items within bags at an airport’s central search area, or the use of more portable technology to screen items at other points in the passenger journey.

    Once ready for commercial use, the new technologies will enhance our ability to prevent terrorist attacks on aviation while improving the experience of passengers.

    Security Minister, Ben Wallace said:

    Aviation security is a government priority and one with an ever changing threat landscape.

    We need to embrace and encourage the talent from industry that will allow us to stay several steps ahead of those who wish us harm.

    Lord Callanan, Minister for Aviation said:

    The UK has always been at the forefront of research and development in the field of aviation security.

    The safety and security of the travelling public will always be our top priority but we understand that this can sometimes be inconvenient for passengers – especially families with young children.

    As technology improves we want to make the aviation experience quicker and easier for all holidaymakers.

    The fund is being run as part of a wider multi-million pound initiative to deliver a step change in aviation security through Future Aviation Security Solutions (FASS).

    FASS, a joint Department for Transport and Home Office programme, is working closely with industry partners to stimulate and fund research into a broad range of potential security innovations from initial concepts through to commercial products.

    The full criteria for this open fund can be found on the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) website.

    This is just one of the routes to funding that FASS is offering to the research and technology community. FASS also encourages applications for research funding via DASA’s Open Call for Innovation . This funding mechanism is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and evaluates ideas, products and services from anywhere in the UK or abroad.

    FASS has already issued £1.64 million funding to projects aimed at improving the screening of passengers, their luggage and cargo.

    Promising results were demonstrated at an event in September (2017), with phase 2 of this research due to commence shortly.