This month’s policy roundup gives you a taste of what the policy and influencing team has been up to over the past month. By Shareen Patel, policy and influencing officer.
Pay and Equalities 2023
This year’s Pay and Equalities Report has been published. It gives a comprehensive breakdown of CEO salaries, benefits and job satisfaction, levels of equality and diversity amongst leadership and satisfaction levels including in the make-up and performance of boards. Despite some positive trends, the overall picture is disappointing and progress is lacking in key areas, including diversity, formal salary reviews and professional development opportunities. Despite this, some respondents would recommend the sector as a desirable place to work with many still envisioning themselves remaining in the sector over the next five years. You can read some of the takeaways. Members can purchase the full publication for £40 and non-members for £70.
Cost-of-living survey
Earlier this month, we re-ran our cost-of-living survey for the third year. The intention behind it is to gain insight from members into approaches to managing the crisis and what this means for staff pay. Organisations continue to go through difficult times, all while aiming and wanting to support their staff, especially those on lower paybands. The percentage increase awarded by charity leaders who have disclosed this information varies but the average is 4.3%. Full results are on the member-only tab on our website.
Joint manifesto with NCVO
The discussion paper of our joint manifesto being produced with NCVO has been published. You can read it on NCVO’s website and share your feedback using a simple online feedback form. We would like to know what your priorities and challenges are, plus what you think the sector should be asking for, so please fill it in if you have the time. There will be further feedback opportunities over the next few months, and we will share details in due course.
Climate crisis work
ACEVO’s next climate member meeting is on Thursday 1 February 2024 11:00-12:00. The speaker and topic are to be confirmed but sign-up to book your place.
NPC and Reach Volunteering are co-hosting a webinar on Thursday 9 November 6:30pm-8:00pm. They will share findings from the Everyone’s Environment programme and consider how trustees can support the charities that they govern as they take action on the social impacts of the environmental crises. The event is for trustees and chairs of charities that might not typically consider themselves to work on environmental issues.
Charity Commission
The Charity Commission’s Annual Public Meeting is on Wednesday 15 November 11:00am-12:30pm. It is a hybrid event open to all members of the public and charity representatives who wish to attend in-person in Liverpool or online. The event is free-to-attend and you will hear updates and insight into the Commission’s activities.
The Charity Commission has launched the new Annual Return for 2023. The question set reflects changes made following a consultation with charities and the public. The new return is available to charities via the My Charity Commission Account service. If you are experiencing any issues with the service, the regulator has prepared guidance to help guide you through the process which includes short videos. Guidance on how to prepare a charity annual return is also available.
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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.
