
Luton Borough Council was prosecuted by the HSE late last year following an incident at a high school in which an assistant headteacher was attacked by a pupil and left with life-changing injuries.
So what do you do when you are dependent on your local authority for both your revenue funding to carry out your activities and your occupation of the premises from which those activities are carried out? What are the risks for charities and voluntary organisations in this scenario – of being doubly dependent on increasingly pressurised local authorities?
The obvious answer, of course, is that if you lose one, you risk losing the other and ultimately the future of the charity itself is at risk. For example:
Ultimately if the trustees have acted in a way which is negligent in getting into a situation where they risk the future of the charity or its property, and/or they didn’t take appropriate advice or follow the regulatory requirements for such actions, they run the risk of being held to account by the Charity Commission – either by means of a regulatory report, investigation or inquiry or potentially being held personally liable for any losses to the charity.
We know that Local Authorities are under extreme financial pressure and do need to make sure that they get value for money from both the services they commission and the property they own and/or have a vested interest in. So there may be little that can be done in the bigger scheme of things to right the balance between diminishing public funds, Councils’ statutory duties and the need for charities and voluntary organisations to have security – both within their premises and in the funding for the services they provide. Long term contracts for services or grants from Local Authority funds are few and far between.
So what can you do to minimise the risks associated with being or becoming doubly dependent on your Local Authority?
Where you are already doubly dependent, even if you are unlikely to be able to negotiate better terms on existing legally binding arrangements, you can:
If you’re facing the possibility of becoming doubly dependent on a Local Authority, then any property and/or grant arrangements need to be very carefully considered before proceeding. In particular:
If your charity is facing any of the potential risks outlined above, then this may be an opportune time for a review of your arrangements with your Local Authority. If we can assist in identifying whether your property is permanent endowment, what rights and obligations you have under your lease or grant agreement, advising on entering into such arrangements with a local authority, developing further income streams, regulatory requirements and/or further risk management for your trustees then please contact Sarah Tomlinson.
Luton Borough Council was prosecuted by the HSE late last year following an incident at a high school in which an assistant headteacher was attacked by a pupil and left with life-changing injuries.
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