The Government yesterday (20 May), presented a (Corporate Governance and Insolvency) Bill to put in place a series of measures to help; including allowing organisations including companies, Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) and Registered Societies, to hold General Meetings (GM), including Annual General Meetings (AGM) even where the governing documents do not permit such to be held virtually and in some cases, explicitly require a minimum number of Members/Shareholders to be physically present.
Whilst not law yet, the proposals temporarily allow organisations to hold an AGM or GM during the six months from 26 March to 30 September virtually and the measures are also to be applied retrospectively.
For those forced to postpone AGMs due to be held after 26 March, they will also be given a limited period after the Bill is passed to hold those AGMs for a maximum period of up to eight months; Regulations to follow.
Whilst these measures will be welcomed by many, they are temporary and will not alleviate these issues for the long term. Rules, constitutions and Articles should therefore still be reviewed and amended to ensure that the organisation can continue to function in the long term.
For any advice in respect of the Government proposals, governance arrangements generally or to seek advice about changing your governing document, please contact Sarah Patrice or a member of the governance team.
Commercial and local authority landlords could benefit from urgently reviewing their legal options.
The Cabinet Office has published guidance asking for people to act responsibly, fairly and “in the national interest”.
To help our charity clients look to the future, we summarise key guidance and updates over the last week.
On 18 May 2020, the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) wrote to all social housing residents in England (residents).
For anyone who is currently restrained from holding their General Meeting or have held such in breach of their governing documents, help is on the way!
Social landlords may be surprised to learn that “landlords should be able to carry out routine as well as essential repairs for most households”.
Many housing providers are now re-thinking about gathering information to complete their data return to the Regulator of Social Housing, with the initial exercise having been delayed by Covid-19.
With many premises being left unoccupied (or minimally occupied) during the lockdown, both Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive have warned of the increased risks of Legionella.
The Court of Appeal judgement in Booth and another v R [2020] EWCA Crim 575 will be welcome news for local authority prosecutors and their investigation teams.
The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 came into force on 4 April.
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