Charities can boost their donations by an extra 25 per cent for fundraisers like Macmillan Cancer Support’s ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ if they ask for donations rather than charging for food and drink.

Gift Aid can be claimed on charitable donations from taxpayers, but not when the money is given in exchange for goods. It is feared that many charity bake sales could be losing out because they directly charge for the item they are selling.

On the day of Macmillan’s Coffee Morning, which last year raised over £27 million to help support people living with cancer, the Minister is clarifying that by asking for donations instead of charging for food and drink, they can make the contributions go further. Macmillan has said that if everyone claimed Gift Aid on their Coffee Morning donations this year an extra £2 million could be raised.

The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Robert Jenrick, said:

From the Great British Bake Off to Macmillan’s charity Coffee Mornings, baking is one of our favourite national pastimes and one that often benefits great charities. We want to support this bake-off fever.

Too many are missing out on an extra 25 per cent boost to donations, which is costing good causes dearly.

That’s why I’m clarifying the Gift Aid rules for anyone running a Coffee Morning. If you ask people to make a donation and offer them a coffee or cake, you could be making 25 per cent more on the funds you raise.

Gift Aid costs no extra to add on to your donation. It allows charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASC) to claim an extra 25p for every £1 donated. To add Gift Aid to a donation, you must have paid income or capital gains tax that year worth at least the value of the Gift Aid being added and give the charity permission to claim it. The Small Donations Scheme, introduced in 2013, does not require a declaration to be made for donations worth up to £20, making it simpler for charities to get extra support from government.

Each year we receive unusual excuses from directors who fail to file their company accounts on time.

Some of the most outrageous reasons given include:

• “goats ate my accounts”
• “I found my wife in the bath with my accountant”
• “pirates stole my accounts”
• “we delivered the accounts to the betting office next door to Companies House”
• “a volcano erupted and prevented me from filing”
• “slugs ate my accounts”
• “it was Valentine’s Day”
• “my company was more successful than I thought it would be, so I was too busy to file”

Bizarre filing excuses

The companies which gave these excuses received a late filing penalty and their appeals were unsuccessful. Penalties increase depending on how late the accounts are filed and the status of the company.

Senior Enforcement Manager, Nick Parker, said:

Companies and directors must be aware of their responsibility to file accounts with Companies House. Companies can sign up to receive e-mail reminders, which can be sent to up to four e-mail addresses.

There will always be unforeseen events that mean a company is unable to file accounts on time. In exceptional circumstances, companies can request an extension to the filing deadline, however these requests must be received before the filing deadline.

Most companies can file accounts electronically – it’s faster and easier. The Companies House WebFiling service has in-built checks to ensure that all the relevant information is provided before a customer can submit. It also provides filers with automatic e-mail confirmation that accounts have been received and once they have been accepted for filing.

To send us accounts electronically, you must register for our online filing services. When you register, we’ll send an authentication code in the post to your company’s registered office.

Read our guidance for general help and advice on filing company accounts.

You can email enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk or call our contact centre on 0303 1234 500. We’re open 8.30am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday.

DECA will provide managed services and undertake the maintenance, repairs and operation of SPCFP’s Electronic Countermeasure (ECM) equipment until 2023, securing a range of specialist technical skills in the region, and saving the taxpayer £3.2M in the overall cost of support.

This is the first task placed under the new DECA Tasking Agreement (DTA) of this magnitude, enabling DECA to manage the extensive supply chain on behalf of DE&S which in turn will provide greater confidence to their military customers in the provision of this vital equipment.

Geraint Spearing, CE of DECA stated,

We are delighted that we are able to deliver critical support to our military colleagues on this life saving equipment, whilst demonstrating our value to Defence. The solution we have agreed is testament to the excellent joint working between SPCFP DT and DECA teams.

Published 28 September 2018

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Gisela Stuart as the new Chair of Wilton Park. The appointment will be effective from 1 October 2018. Ms Stuart replaces the outgoing Chair Iain Ferguson. Ms Stuart served as Member of Parliament for Birmingham Edgbaston from 1997 until 2017. Amongst the public positions she holds are Chair of Change Britain, Director Henry Jackson Society and Member of the Global Strategy Forum Advisory Board.

Wilton Park is a not-for-profit executive agency of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Based in Wiston House, West Sussex, Wilton Park organises over 65 events a year on issues of international security, prosperity and justice. Wilton Park encourages and facilitates high level collaboration that shapes the agenda and pushes forward international policy, with the secluded residential setting enabling frank and open dialogue.

The Chair of Wilton Park serves for a term of five years, with the possibility of re-appointment for a second term.

Published 28 September 2018

A new Public Health England (PHE) report shows people with severe mental illness (SMI) suffer significantly worse physical health compared to the general population, with the greatest inequalities seen among younger people.

The report looks at GP data for adults aged under 75. It was prompted by the inequalities that are known to exist in people with severe mental illness who die on average 15 to 20 years earlier than the general population. It is part of wider work to improve the physical health of people with mental illness, by underpinning action plans with better data, increasing early detection and expanding access to physical and follow-up care.

Severe mental illness refers to people who have received a diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder or schizophrenia, or who have experienced an episode of psychosis.

The report found patients with SMI have a higher prevalence of:

• obesity (1.8 times more prevalent than the general population)
• diabetes (1.9 times)
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (2.1 times)
• stroke (1.6 times)
• heart failure (1.5 times)
• Coronary Heart Disease (1.2 times)
• asthma (1.2 times)

Patients with SMI are also around twice as likely to have multiple physical health conditions as the general population.

Younger people (aged 15 to 34 years) with SMI experience the greatest level of health inequalities. They are 5 times more likely to have 3 or more physical health conditions than the general population.

Younger people with SMI suffer further from a higher prevalence of:

• obesity (3 times more prevalent than the general population)
• diabetes (3.7 times)
• hypertension (3.2 times)

Professor Julia Verne, Head of Clinical Epidemiology at Public Health England, said:

It’s unacceptable that people with severe mental illness live with more ill health and die up to 20 years younger than the rest of the population.

We need to look beyond mental illness to a ‘whole person’ approach to health care, helping to improve peoples’ lives. It is vital that people experiencing severe mental illness are supported to improve their physical health, including better access to support and services such as screening programmes, health checks and stop smoking services.

Professor Tim Kendall, national clinical director for mental health at NHS England said:

Improving the life expectancy of people with serious mental health issues needs coordinated action, and this report adds to our knowledge, reinforcing the need for a continued focus on closing the physical health outcomes gap.

The NHS is already increasing early detection and expanding access to evidence-based physical care assessment and follow-up care, with more than 280,000 people set to get help by 2020 to 2021, while the NHS long-term plan will set out further priorities for the years ahead.

Mark Winstanley, CEO of mental health charity Rethink, said:

It is hugely concerning that the average life expectancy of someone living with serious mental illness is the same as the life expectancy of the average adult in the 1950’s.

The physical health needs of people experiencing serious mental illness must be taken into consideration alongside their mental health needs. We hope that this timely report from Public Health England alongside the work of the Equally Well collaboration will bring around much-needed change.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on psychosis and schizophrenia in adults recommends GPs monitor the physical health of patients with Severe Mental Illness. It recommends that patients with Severe Mental Illness have at least one annual physical health review that includes among others, checks on weight or BMI, metabolic status, pulse and blood pressure monitoring, as well as appropriate interventions and support with recovery.