Latest news with #charities
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Retired baby boomers aren't responsible for national woes
While there is much of interest in Phillip Inman's article, it's a bit simplistic to suggest that national woes arise from lazy, early-retiring baby boomers (Get early retirees off the golf course and back to work – why early retirement isn't good for UK plc, 26 July). It's true to recognise that we're in an advantageous position that others aren't, but few of us have the luxurious boardroom pensions he suggests we have. Rather, many of us reached the position by long working hours, and saving for such a retirement. Putting money into saving for a future, rather than buying a new car each year, doesn't make me responsible for low growth of the UK economy. Indeed many early retirees are driving charities through their volunteering work. These charities often now fill the gap left by government austerity. This notion that we can all have happy productive jobs into our 70s is for most a fallacy. Anyone over 55 looking for a job will tell you that companies prefer cheaper 'just done the training' younger candidates over older 'with experience' candidates. For many people, even those like teachers, the sometimes hidden physical demands of their roles make being forced to work longer a frightening experience. Where are the jobs for us oldies to do? If there are any left in this artificial intelligence/technology-driven world, we'd be taking them from the young anyway. Of course for many people, the idea of early retirement is a fantasy and any retirement looks impossible. This is, however, just another example of the ever-widening inequality in society. The solution has to be a wealth tax on those who do suck money out of the economy to fund their excessive lifestyles continuously, and not just in Heydon-DumbletonPathhead, Midlothian
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
£274m of Child Trust Fund cash has not been claimed – here's how to get yours
Almost £275m of government-allocated funds are being 'hidden' from disadvantaged young people and going unclaimed, charities have warned. Child Trust Funds (CTFs) are long-term, tax-free savings accounts for people born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, which they can access when they turn 18. Children received around £250 each from the government at the time their CTF was started, or £500 if they were from low-income families or in local authority care. A second top-up was added when the child turned seven years old for those who qualified for Disability Living Allowance between 6 April 2009 and 5 April 2011, or turned seven between 1 September 2009 and 31 July 2010. The accounts could also be added to by a parent, with the average amount held in CTFs totalling around £2,000. If no action was taken by families to claim the accounts when they were set up, they were allocated by HMRC. However, according to The Share Foundation, a charity that helps track down unclaimed funds, more than £400m is sitting unclaimed in HMRC-allocated accounts waiting for people to claim them. And more than half of the accounts belong to young adults on low incomes, with £274m meant for disadvantaged young people left unclaimed. The charity has warned that if no action is taken, there will be nearly £1bn lying dormant and unclaimed for low-income young adults by the end of this parliament. Dawn Smith, 21, said her Child Trust Fund helped her achieve the best grade possible at university, where she was later offered her first job. However, she said it took her over a year to access her fund due to a name change. 'My parents were aware of it, but we had no idea where it was or how much money was in it – we knew nothing,' she said. She then searched online and found The Share Foundation, which helped her to claim her fund. The Share Foundation is calling on the government to implement a new automatic release mechanism to ensure all HMRC-allocated funds are paid out when account holders turn 21 – without the need for them to make a claim. Ms Smith told The Independent: 'I managed to claim mine in the second year of university. I studied music at university in London, which was very expensive. While my parents were doing as much as they could, once I got that trust fund, it all went towards uni. 'It went towards my equipment and anything I could use to get the best grade possible. I used it for things that were very needed at the time. 'It's helped me invest in my future. With having that trust fund helping me do so well, the uni has actually offered me a job, so I'll be a tutor for them.' Chairman of The Share Foundation, Gavin Oldham, described the money as being 'hidden' from young people. He said: 'The government has no funding for low-income young people, not because it lacks intent, but because it lacks the means. So why not release the £400m that is currently sat unclaimed in HMRC-allocated Child Trust Funds belonging to young people aged 21 or over? 'This would provide an immediate resolution at no cost to them – and £274m of this would be delivered immediately to low-income young people.' The proposed changes would mean that if an unclaimed HMRC-allocated fund matched the national insurance number of someone either claiming benefits, on a payroll or student loan system, the money would be released to the corresponding accounts. Labour peer David Blunkett, who has also called for changes to be made, told The Independent: 'A simple means of releasing the money directly to them using modern technology is a no-brainer. The trawl for contact details would be the same as banks uses when checking for 'unclaimed assets' and cross-reference with national insurance numbers would also help. 'Not only would this be a boon to the young people concerned at a moment when they need it most, but also an injection of cash into local economies across the country, which is bound to help the overall economy.' An HMRC spokesperson said it works closely with providers to support young people to track their funds down and every young person is sent information about finding their account with their National Insurance letter. The Treasury has been contacted for a comment. How you can claim your Child Trust Fund cash To find your CTF, the government website advises you to contact your provider directly, if you know who the account is with. If you don't, you can ask HMRC or contact The Share Foundation for help here: Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
£275m of Child Trust Fund cash has not been claimed – here's how to get yours
Almost £275 million worth of government-allocated funds is being 'hidden' from disadvantaged young people and going unclaimed, charities have warned. Child Trust Funds (CTFs) are long-term, tax-free savings accounts for people born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, which they can access when they turn 18. Children received around £250 each from the government at the time their CTF was started, or £500 if they were from low-income families or in local authority care. A second top-up was added when the child turned seven years old for those who qualified for Disability Living Allowance between 6 April 2009 and 5 April 2011, or turned seven between 1 September 2009 and 31 July 2010. The accounts could also be added to by a parent, with the average amount held in CTFs totalling around £2,000. If no action was taken by families to claim the accounts when they were set up, they were allocated by HMRC. However, according to The Share Foundation, a charity that helps track down unclaimed funds, more than £400 million is sitting unclaimed in HMRC-allocated accounts waiting for people to claim them. And more than half of the accounts belong to young adults on low incomes, with £274 million meant for disadvantaged young people left unclaimed. The charity has warned that if no action is taken, there will be nearly £1bn lying dormant and unclaimed for low-income young adults by the end of this parliament. Dawn Smith, 21, said her Child Trust Fund helped her achieve the best grade possible at university, where she was later offered her first job. However, she said it took her over a year to access her fund due to a name change. 'My parents were aware of it, but we had no idea where it was or how much money was in it – we knew nothing,' she said. She then searched online and found The Share Foundation, which helped her to claim her fund. The Share Foundation is calling on the government to implement a new automatic release mechanism to ensure all HMRC-allocated funds are paid out when account holders turn 21 - without the need for them to make a claim. Ms Smith told The Independent: 'I managed to claim mine in the second year of university. I studied music at university in London, which was very expensive. While my parents were doing as much as they could, once I got that trust fund, it all went towards uni. 'It went towards my equipment and anything I could use to get the best grade possible. I used it for things that were very needed at the time. 'It's helped me invest in my future. With having that trust fund helping me do so well, the uni has actually offered me a job, so I'll be a tutor for them.' Chairman of The Share Foundation, Gavin Oldham, described the money as being 'hidden' from young people. He said: 'The government has no funding for low-income young people, not because it lacks intent, but because it lacks the means. So why not release the £400 million that is currently sat unclaimed in HMRC-allocated Child Trust Funds belonging to young people aged 21 or over? 'This would provide an immediate resolution at no cost to them - and £274 million of this would be delivered immediately to low-income young people.' The proposed changes would mean that if an unclaimed HMRC-allocated fund matched the national insurance number of someone either claiming benefits, on a payroll or student loan system, the money would be released to the corresponding accounts. Lord David Blunkett, who has also called for changes to be made, told The Independent: 'A simple means of releasing the money directly to them using modern technology is a no-brainer. The trawl for contact details would be the same as banks uses when checking for 'unclaimed assets' and cross-reference with national insurance numbers would also help. 'Not only would this be a boon to the young people concerned at a moment when they need it most, but also an injection of cash into local economies across the country, which is bound to help the overall economy.' An HMRC spokesperson said it works closely with providers to support young people to track their funds down and every young person is sent information about finding their account with their National Insurance letter. The Treasury has been contacted for a comment. To find your CTF, the government website advises you to contact your provider directly, if you know who the account is with. If you don't, you can ask HMRC or contact The Share Foundation for help here:
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Samaritans closures show brutal reality of financial crisis for UK charities
A week ago the voluntary sector was being love-bombed by ministers at launch of the civil society covenant, an agreement designed to cement the role of charities in the government's economic growth plans and social renewal mission At one level, it was a heady moment of optimism for a sector used to being patronised and ignored. A few days later, news that the mental health charity Samaritans is to close about half of its 200 branches over the next few years was a reminder of the cold, hard economic reality gripping much of the sector. Samaritans is just the latest household name UK charity to take drastic action to stave off financial crisis. In recent months Macmillan Cancer Support has axed a quarter of its staff and cut millions in hardship grants; the disability charity Scope has cut a fifth of its workforce; at Oxfam GB 265 roles are at risk; 550 jobs will go at the National Trust; and the counselling charity Relate was rescued from administration having cut a third of its staff. This is just the most visible tip of the iceberg: thousands of less high-profile charities are shedding jobs and cutting back services, considering mergers, or in some cases shutting their doors. The prime minister paid tribute last week to the 'incredible work of charities' but much of that work exists on fragile ground. At the root of the crisis in the voluntary sector is what commentators call a 'perfect storm' – a brutal confluence of negative economic and social factors. A decade of austerity cuts merged into the pandemic, followed rapidly by the still lingering cost of living crisis with its high inflation and soaring energy prices. Demand rose for charities as a result – in simple terms, there were vastly more people coming to them for help whether for a food parcel, a hostel bed for the night or to get mental health advice and therapy. At the same time income has shrunk: state funding has fallen away, donations have flatlined, and national insurance bills rocketed. Even Macmillan, with one of the slickest fundraising machines in the business, raising over £230m a year, could not keep up with demand. For several years it rode out the crisis by drawing down tens of millions of pounds a year from reserves to fix the holes in its balance sheet – a practice it has now declared unsustainable. Samaritans is tight lipped about the cash savings it wants to make but its published accounts show that spending has exceeded income for each of the last three years and it has struggled to bring costs down. At the same time, its income from state-funded grants and contracts, and from its charitable activities, has fallen. A conventional business might see rationalising the charity's 201 branches across the UK and Ireland as a no-brainer. Lower overheads, and perhaps a windfall from asset sales. Couple this with the rise in mobile technology and AI – with more people working from home since the Covid pandemic – and why keep all this costly bricks and mortar? Charities are not conventional businesses, however: Samaritans is largely run by passionate volunteers, their focus often hyper-local, immersed in community cameraderie, support networks and face-to-face relationships. The prospect of speaking to suicidal callers in remote call centres or at home appalls. As one Samaritans volunteer who contacted the Guardian put it: 'It's a funny organisation, like a cross between an emergency service and the WI [women's institute): life and death and ginger biscuits.' Volunteers were understandably upset, they added: 'If you run a service which callers use because they're dying of lack of human contact, closing and automating it seems a little odd.' In this environment staff and volunteerscan feel abandoned by what they see as the out-of-touch corporate centres of large charities. Ire is directed against big managerial salaries, expensive rebrands, fancy HQs, and a spreadsheet culture perceived to be out of step with core charity values. In charity boardrooms, the harsh reality is expenditure cannot exceed income for too long. Charities continue to be overwhelmed by overflow of demand from decaying public services and rising poverty. As ever, the people most at risk are charities' beneficiaries: the poor and desperate relying on charity to survive.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Ministers urged not to remove legal rights and protections for Send children
The Government must not remove or dilute legal rights and protections for children with special educational needs and disabilities, a coalition of charities and parent organisations has urged. The plea comes as ministers have failed to rule out slashing education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – which set out the specialist support a young person requires for their needs. The Disabled Children's Partnership (DCP), which includes more than 130 charities and parent groups, has called on the Government not to restrict access to EHCPs for those who continue to need them. The Government plans to publish a white paper in the autumn detailing how it will reform support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). Earlier this month, education minister Stephen Morgan could not guarantee that the current system of EHCPs would remain in place. ECHPs are legal documents for children and young people up to the age of 25 which identify their educational, health and social needs, and set out the extra support required. A report by the DCP said the rise in EHCPs can be used as evidence the system is 'too expensive for councils' to provide, but it suggested more nurseries, schools and colleges are applying for plans because the support children need 'is not happening without them'. It said every child who needs Send support should have a 'written record' setting out the support they need and how it will be monitored. 'The Government must not dilute existing rights and protections, or restrict access to education, health and care plans for those who continue to need them,' the report added. In total, there were 638,745 EHCPs in place in January, up 10.8% on the same point last year. The number of new plans which started during 2024 also grew by 15.8% on the previous year, to 97,747. Requests for children to be assessed for EHCPs rose by 11.8% to 154,489 in 2024. The coalition's report outlines five key areas the Government should address if young people with Send are to enjoy the same 'ordinary things' in life that their peers take for granted. The Government should ensure there is 'legally guaranteed support' for every child who needs it with the current Send support arrangements put on a statutory footing, the DCP has said. The coalition has also called for more funding for the Send system and for every local area to have a plan for ensuring there is the 'right mix' of mainstream and specialist placements. The report said: 'This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make children and families' lives better. 'But getting this wrong would make it even harder for families to get the support their children so desperately need.' It added that many parents of children with Send are having to turn to the law to enforce their child's rights at tribunal and they may have spent years without the support they need. The report said: 'The solution to this is not to remove or dilute legal rights and protections; the Government must ensure proper accountability for meeting legal duties.' Anna Bird, chairwoman of the DCP and chief executive of charity Contact, said: 'Children with Send want ordinary things – a place to learn safely, the opportunity to take part in after-school activities and the chance for parents to work to support their children, rather than having to put their working lives on hold. ' She added: 'Our Fight for Ordinary campaign launches today and the report sets out how to make the changes children with Send need, without diluting their rights or removing vital protections. 'This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get it right for children with Send. 'The Government will only get reforms right if they work together with young people, parents and the organisations that represent them.' Tobias Lambe, from Warwickshire, who is autistic and faced a fight to get an EHCP at school, is now at university studying medicine. He said: 'At the age of 14 I had a mental health breakdown and was admitted to hospital. 'I never dreamed that seven years later I would be thriving at university studying a course I love, playing sports, making friends and enjoying life. 'But it's taken a huge fight and countless battles with schools, healthcare providers and local authorities for me to achieve that. 'Not every family is able to fight that battle, and none should have to.' The 21-year-old added: 'Children and young people who are disabled and neurodivergent should not have to face a constant fight for a suitable education or the right healthcare. 'These are ordinary things to which everyone is entitled.' A Department for Education (DfE) spokeswoman said: 'This Government inherited a Send system left on its knees – which is why we are listening closely to families as we work to make sure more children can thrive in their local school, putting an end to parents having to fight to get support that should be routine. 'Our priority is improving outcomes for children and young people with Send which is why the Education Secretary has been clear that there will always be a legal right to additional support for children with Send. 'We are already making progress, from more early intervention in mainstream schools across ADHD, autism and speech and language needs, through to £740 million investment to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools. 'As part of our Plan for Change, we will restore the confidence of families up and down the country and deliver the improvement they are crying out for, so every child can achieve and thrive.'
