The Government’s groundbreaking £130million Grassroots Grants scheme declared itself open for business today and called on small local voluntary and community groups to come forward and get their hands on essential funding. Whether it’s helping local clubs get hold of new kit, coaching new volunteers or simply giving the village hall a fresh lick of paint, Grassroots Grants aim to make a real and immediate difference to the work of any small and local community groups with annual incomes below £20,000. The programme, funded by the Office of The Third Sector in the Cabinet Office and administered by the Community Development Foundation, offers grants of between £250 and £5,000 to support activities that lie right at the heart of our local communities.

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4 September 2008
© Cabinet Office

Local Government Minister John Healey has today launched a consultation on giving the public greater access to information on how efficiently their council is being run. Mr Healey wants to put council tax payers themselves at the heart of the drive to make £5bn town hall savings over the next three years - worth an average of £184 per Band D council tax payer. The Minister said council tax payers should see for themselves how efficiently their council is being run when they receive their bills, through proposals that complement the Government’s aim that taxpayers receive the maximum value for money. Under these proposals, all council tax bills would include the efficiency savings the local authority has made.Information accompanying the bill would show the average level of efficiency savings achieved by similar councils over the same time period so people can see how well their council is performing compared to other areas. This will give tax payers information they can use to challenge their council and hold them to account if they are performing poorly, whether for example by petitioning their council, or through the ballot box.

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3 September 2008
© Communties and Local Government

Malcolm Craig, Senior Policy Advisor in the CRC Rural Services: Fair Access and Equitable Outcomes team, has been interviewed for an article in the latest NFU Countryside magazine. The article looks at how rural areas are being affected by Post Office closures and how commmunities are coming together to explore different ways to retain post office services in their community. Read the full article: http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/files/P12-16_cside_aug_v02.pdf

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2 September 2008
© Commission for Rural Communities

Voluntary organisations which can’t recover VAT (in full or part) need to ensure their budgets from April 2009 take into account VAT charged on the whole costs of employing staff via an agency (or other third party).Currently the tax is (or should be) only charged on the agency’s commission or management fee, not on the salary itself, but this arrangement will cease from 1st April 2009. More details on Sandy Adirondack’s Legal Update at http://www.sandy-a.co.uk/managing.htm#vat-staff

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2 September 2008
© VoluntaryNews

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has today announced that stamp duty land tax will not apply to purchases of residential property of £175,000 or less. This will provide an exemption from stamp duty land tax for land transactions consisting entirely of residential property where the chargeable consideration is not more than £175,000. This relief will apply to transactions with an effective date on or after 3rd September 2008 and before 3rd September 2009.

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2 September 2008
© HM Treasury (National)

The revised guidance on the VAT Charity Fundraising Exemption in connection with charity challenge events has already been covered here. This came into effect from 31st July, but HM Revenue and Customs has now said that it accepts that where contracts were signed or negotiated before then, or the event has been publicised prior to the publication of the new guidance, charities can account for VAT using their previous procedures. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/briefs/vat/brief3608.htm

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29 August 2008
© VoluntaryNews

Tax Credits to encourage small businesses to invest more in research and development will increase by £80 million a year from 1 August, bringing the total tax relief available to around £300 million a year, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Angela Eagle MP announced today. The increased tax relief will encourage more of the UK’s innovative small and medium companies to invest in developing new and improved products. To enable companies to claim the additional tax relief, the rate available for qualifying small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) investing in R&D will increase from 150 per cent to 175 per cent of their investment. The size of company that can qualify for tax relief will also increase, from 250 employees to up to 500 employees, with the associated limits on balance sheet value and turnover also doubling. The increase will help SMEs to grow into large R&D firms by continuing to provide the benefit of a higher rate of relief up to these new, higher limits.

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31 July 2008
© HM Treasury

Those working for charities are to be offered financial guidance at a forthcoming seminar, it has been revealed. Due to be organised by accountancy firm PKF, the London advice session will see charities receive advice on Gift Aid, Pay As You Earn systems and VAT. In addition, those attending the seminar will be given tips on how to save money and comply with various legal requirements. The seminar is free and takes place on Tuesday September 9th at the firm’s Farringdon Place office. Among the speakers at the event will be PKF director of VAT Debbie Jennings and Philip Fisher, who is partner of employment tax and rewards.Senior manager of corporation tax Sarah Campbell will also be offering advice to third sector bodies at the seminar.

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25 July 2008
© jobsgopublic

Our new report ‘Rural Financial Poverty: Priorities for action’ shows that the proportion of rural households in relative poverty rose from 16% to 19% between 2004 and 2007 - the equivalent of 1.6 million people in 2007. Around 20% of children and pensioners in rural areas were living in poverty in 2007, as well as one in six working-age adults. The increasing proportion of children living in poor working households and the dramatic rise in the proportion of pensioners living in poverty are particularly striking. ‘Rural Financial Poverty: Priorities for action’ provides a rural perspective to help inform policy makers and practitioners working to reduce financial poverty. It presents the latest statistical evidence of the scale and depth of rural financial poverty and recommends priorities for action to guide their work. Download as PDF: http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/files/CRC%20Rural%20Financial%20Poverty.pdf

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16 July 2008
© Commission for Rural Communities

Wildlife rich green spaces must be at the heart of all new development for the benefit of the natural environment and people’s health and wellbeing, said Natural England today (16 July 2008) as 20 new Growth Points around the country are announced by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Speaking in response to today’s announcement, Dr Helen Phillips, Chief Executive of Natural England outlined five green points against which all new developments should be measured. Helen Phillips, said: “All new developments must pass a simple green test. Developers would never contemplate leaving out grey infrastructure, such as sewers and mains water from developments, so why should it be acceptable to leave out green infrastructure when it’s proven to improve people’s health and quality of life?”
Natural England wants to see networks of parks, open spaces and wild areas in all areas of significant growth and regeneration. To set developers on the right path, Natural England today sets out its ‘Green Test’ for all new developments.

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16 July 2008
© Natural England