This policy round-up will help you stay informed about government announcements and what the ACEVO influencing team has been up to. If you’d like to get in touch, please email us at policy@acevo.org.uk.
By Shareen Patel, policy and influencing officer at ACEVO.
Energy Bills and cost-of-living impact
- Before the ‘Energy Bills Discount Scheme’ (EBDS) announcement, we met with the Exchequer Secretary and Treasury officials to make a case for why charities and voluntary organisations should receive further support with energy costs post-March. The EBDS will apply to eligible non-domestic energy users who will receive a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024. The cap of the scheme is set at £5.5bn. Our chief executive Jane Ide said the announcement contains many wins for our sector, however, the challenge is the quantum of support. Read her response in full.
- ACEVO members can join us for a webinar on Tuesday 7 February 11:00 – 12:00 with our partner Utility Aid to gain further understanding of the next steps for your charity to take in managing rising energy costs.
- We met with DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) and BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) officials to explore the EBDS and gain further clarification on the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) scheme, plus where targeted support might be available elsewhere. We ran a short survey with ACEVO members on the potential uptake of the new scheme and will use the input in our influencing efforts.
Upcoming March Budget
- Before the Budget announcement on 15 March, as part of the Civil Society Group, we’ve drafted a joint submission highlighting asks for the sector, including tax, benefits, support to local authorities, and cost-of-living support to communities and to those supporting them.
Joint briefing on the Public Order Bill for report stage in the House of Lords
- As part of the Civil Society Voice group, we prepared a joint briefing for the report stage of the Public Order Bill in the House of Lords to demonstrate our support in opposing the Bill. The briefing focuses on urging peers to support amendments to mitigate three of the Bill’s worst effects: Serious Disruption Prevention Orders, protest-specific stop and search powers, and criminal offences of locking-on.
Charity Commission consultation on draft Social Media Guidance for Trustees
- The Charity Commission has opened its eight-week consultation on Draft Guidance on charities’ use of social media, to which we will respond soon. The guidance aims to help trustees understand their responsibilities around managing their charity’s use of social media including the risks, and to encourage charities to adopt a social media policy. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to share your thoughts on the consultation.
Electoral Commission’s consultation on draft Non Party Campaigner Code of Practice
- The Electoral Commission consulted on a draft Code of Practice on the laws relating to non-party campaigner (NPC) spending, including what qualifies as expenses, reporting controlled expenditure and donations, and joint campaigning. We submitted a joint response with NCVO, Bond, Quakers in Britain, the Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK), and Unlock Democracy. Our response highlighted that while this Code is important to help shape the operating environment for campaigning, it could do more in providing reassurance to non-party campaigners about their activity. In recognising the impact on charities, we recommended more clarity on who is covered by the Code, how it intersects with existing guidance and what is entailed in joint campaigning.
Electoral Commission’s consultation on Digital Imprints
- We submitted a joint consultation response to the Electoral Commission’s consultation on Digital Imprints with NCVO and Bond. In highlighting the impact the proposals might have on charities, we asked for more clarity around definitions to help organisations that are new or unfamiliar with the area of digital imprints. We also suggested using examples and case studies to help organisations understand the rules.
Climate crisis
- We chaired our first meeting of cohort 2 of the ACEVO Climate Crisis Member Working Group. The group will focus on sharing resources, embedding climate change into organisational missions, and discussing climate policies to set ambition for the sector. You can read more about our climate work here.
- A new climate action case study from the Felix Project is now available. The Felix Project redistributes over 12,500 tonnes of surplus food annually and gives the food to charities, schools, and other community organisations across London. Through sharing their experience and work done so far, they highlighted their Sustainability Working Group plus the hope to carry out energy audits at each of their sites. They noted that the most challenging aspect for them in the future is balancing potential positive environmental switches with the financial impact on the organisation.
