The claim of Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Foundation Trust (“Derby FT”) alone was worth more than £17 million. To claim the mandatory rate reduction, and subsequent repayment of business rates paid over the previous six years, Derby FT needed to be a charity, whose property is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes. Section 67(10) of the 1988 Act defines a charity, for the purposes of business rates, as either:
The primary purpose of all Foundation Trusts is the provision of goods and services for the purposes of the health service in England, under the National Health Service Act 2006. Whilst this is a charitable purpose, falling under ‘the advancement of health and saving lives’, the Foundation Trusts also had two additional purposes. Under section 43(2) of the National Health Service Act 2006, these related to:
As such, Foundation Trusts may pursue other purposes as long as they are connected with the purposes in section 43(2), with no requirement that those purposes had to advance public health. However, the additional purposes could fall outside of the 2011 Act, thus would not necessarily be charitable.
The Court held that the purposes of Foundation Trusts, as prescribed by the National Health Service Act 2006, were not limited to only charitable purposes. Therefore, Foundation Trusts could not be considered charities for the purposes of the 1988 Act or benefit from business rates relief.
We will be exploring the impact this decision has on charities and local authorities in a series of short articles.
Please contact Emma Watt.
It is anticipated that as lockdown restrictions ease, and particularly with children and young adults returning to education, cases of meningitis will start to rise.
As we continue to emerge from lockdown measures and deal with local measures and the short and long term economic impact of Covid-19, local authorities will need to re-assess how services will be delivered for years to come.
The Government first announced plans for a shared ownership right to buy in October 2019. At the time the sector raised concerns about the impact the plans would have on housing associations ability to borrow. An election and a pandemic later the Government announced, during the CIH Housing Festival last week, the return of the right to shared ownership as part of its Affordable Homes Programme (AHP).
Two final pieces of the possession jigsaw have been published on 15 September 2020. Mr Justice Knowles’ working group on possession proceedings has issued its guidance on the “overall arrangements” for possession proceedings.
One change proposed by the Building Safety Bill is the introduction of a duty holder regime, which will see statutory responsibility for the safety of higher risk buildings placed on key individuals
Throughout this pandemic, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been publishing various “Statements on Coronavirus” (Statements) which provide guidance on consumer rights during this time.
A recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the UK means new measures are being put in place in an effort to reduce the risk of a second wave. Whilst the impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt, it is important to remain focused on the sector’s road to recovery.
Sometimes half an hour at a conference gives you the reality that has been staring you in the face all along. That was my experience watching “Change is on the Horizon”
Following our recent e-briefing on Possession Notices, Helen Tucker and Emilie Pownall from our housing litigation team discuss the impact of the changes on social landlords.
Not only has the possession stay been extended until 20 September, the notice periods to be given to tenants has been extended in certain circumstances with some important exceptions.
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