This policy round-up will help you stay informed about latest developments on ACEVO’s key areas of policy and influencing work and a flavour of what the team has been focusing on in the last month.
By Shareen Patel, policy and influencing officer at ACEVO.
Pay and Equalities Survey 2023
We have opened this year’s Pay and Equalities Survey with CAF, ACOSVO and CO3. For over 10 years, your responses have enabled us to provide the sector with a full, up-to-date picture of pay and reward for CEOs and an understanding of diversity and equalities at senior levels. Filling in the survey will take only 20 minutes of your time and in return, you’ll get a free copy of the report (worth nearly £60). You will also help us understand the sector’s strengths, and where it needs to get even better. The survey closes at 5pm on Wednesday 10 May.
DCMS funding for charities
Alongside other sector bodies, we are liaising with DCMS on the details for the distribution of the £100m funding announced in the Chancellor’s Budget for charities and community organisations in England. This will be targeted to those most at risk, due to increased demand from groups most at risk of harm and higher delivery costs. We are urging DCMS to ensure that funding is distributed equitably and as rapidly as possible, consulting with a broad range of voices representing different groups.
Electoral Commission – Code of Practice for Non-party Campaigners
The Electoral Commission (EC) has published its updated Code of Practice for Non-party Campaigners (NPC). The code relates to 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 and Unlock Democracy highlighting that the Code could do more in providing reassurance to NPCs about their activity. In recognising the impact on charities, we recommended more clarity on who is covered by it, how it intersects with existing guidance and what is entailed in joint campaigning.
You can read the EC’s report outlining the feedback they received during the consultation and how they have amended the Code as a result. The main updates include;
- reviewing the structure to make it easier for campaigners to read and simpler to navigate,
- making it clearer that the purpose test is defined in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA),
- adding more detail on the four factors that should be considered when determining whether campaign activity is regulated,
- clarifying how activity can be regulated retrospectively,
- redrafting the section in the Code that sets out the meaning of “public” and
- including more information to help campaigners understand the rules on joint campaigning and in what situations they apply.
The EC has submitted this final version of the Code to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for consideration. Whilst there is no timeline for the Minister to look at this, he may make modifications to the Code ahead of it being laid. The aim is to have the Code in place by summer recess, subject to Parliamentary approval.
We will be producing practical guidance for members in the coming weeks and months and will keep members updated.
Preparing for a general election
We are planning our influencing activity ahead of a general election, which must be held in the next 18 months, in the Autumn of 2024. It’s possible that Rishi Sunak may decide to bring forward the date of the election to capitalise on any leads in the polls and so we’re on alert for (another) period of volatility and potential political warfare as the campaigns get underway. We want to ensure that the voluntary sector forms a key part of a vision for a future society, and soon will call for your help to shape that vision and the role our sector plays in achieving it. We’ll also be focusing on providing practical help and guidance for charity leaders in the lead up to an election and supporting leaders to campaign and engage with confidence.
Participation in EY Foundation’s Impactful Futures Programme
For three days in April, ACEVO hosted two students who were participants on the EY Foundation’s Impactful Futures programme. This programme supports young people (aged 16-17) from low-income backgrounds to gain an insight into the charity sector and expand their network, whilst providing our sector with a diverse, talent pipeline.
They sat within the policy and influencing team, gaining an understanding of the role ACEVO plays and participating in several meetings, including one held by the Civil Society Group. Their task whilst with us was to think about what their focus areas would be if they were the CEOs of the future and their answers spanned the issues of poverty, mental health and suicide, diversity, climate sustainability and women’s rights.
One student wrote, ‘I feel very privileged to have got the opportunity to work at ACEVO during the last week. Every day at ACEVO brought another insightful view to the non-profit sector as a whole, as well as ACEVO’s niche. It was lovely seeing how cohesively the teams work to truly make a lasting difference. I will definitely benefit from the problem-solving and time management skills that I learnt during my presentation and the countless other task I embarked on during the last week’.
We were extremely proud to have taken part in this programme and provide ambitious students and aspiring leaders the space to learn more about our sector and develop their own skills. We learnt a lot from them too, especially during the presentation they gave and the research they did in preparation for it. Should the opportunity arise in the future, we’d urge other charities to get involved in this initiative.
The policy and influencing team is here to help! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me on shareen.patel@acevo.org.uk.
