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For people with criminal records

Tag: Charity rules

New charity rules that impact on people with convictions come into force today

There are over 11 million people in this country with a criminal record. Many of them play a vital role in contributing to the work of charities. There are many charities, including those working with people in the criminal justice system, that are ‘user led’ or actively involve their beneficiaries at a senior level in their organisation.

Almost anyone is allowed to run a charity, but there are rules that mean some people with a criminal record are prevented from being able to unless they have clearance from the Charity Commission.

Those rules have changed today (1st August 2018). Changes to the ‘automatic disqualification’ rules mean some people with certain convictions will be prevented from being able to run a charity, unless they have clearance from the Charity Commission. The changes cover a wider range of criminal records and apply to certain senior manager roles as well as trustee positions.

Unlock has long opposed these changes – we continue to argue that they are disproportionate and an ineffective way of protecting charities. But in response to the implementation timetable set out by government and the Charity Commission, we published guidance for charities and individuals in February 2018, which we have now updated and published today to reflect the changes having fully come into force.

It’s important that charities of all shapes and sizes get to grips with these changes, not just those that work in criminal justice. If you particularly involve people with criminal convictions in your organisation’s leadership, it is vital to understand what you can do to support people who are affected by the new rules to be involved.

For individuals that are affected by these changes, our guidance for individuals (and online tool) is designed to help. If you think you need to apply for a waiver, or are in the process of doing so, please get in touch with our helpline so that we can support where possible.

Commenting on figures featured in news articles today in Third Sector and Civil Society, Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, said:

“The figures that the Charity Commission has released today do not give any detail on how many of the waivers they have granted relate to people with a criminal record, and that is an important figure to being able to understand the impact of these changes and how well the waiver process is working.

 

“We know of some cases where individuals have waited months for a decision, and it’s concerning to learn that over 1 in 3 waiver applications are still being considered. Given that these decisions might have significant implications for people’s livelihoods, it’s important that the commission is making sure that it’s meeting its aim of making decisions within 21 days.

 

“Research of small charities has shown that 70% of organisations are not aware of the changes and the majority lack confidence in their understanding of the impact the changes will have on people involved in their charities. The fact that a third of the waiver applications so far were not applicable points to this lack of knowledge and confidence.

 

“Today, we’ve launched updated guidance, supported by Clinks, to help charities understand the changes and to look at what steps to take to maintain and increase the involvement of people with criminal records within charities.”

 

More information

  1. A blog by our co-director, Christopher Stacey, on the changes that came into force today
  2. Our updated guidance for charities
  3. Our updated guidance for individuals
  4. The charity rule changes page on our website.

Blog – What will be the impact of today’s charity rule changes?

There are over 11 million people in this country with a criminal record. Many of them play a vital role in contributing to the work of charities. There are many charities, including those working with people in the criminal justice system, that are ‘user led’ or actively involve their beneficiaries at a senior level in their organisation.

Almost anyone is allowed to run a charity, but there are rules that mean some people with a criminal record are prevented from being able to unless they have clearance from the Charity Commission.

Those rules have changed today (1st August 2018). Changes to the ‘automatic disqualification’ rules mean some people with certain convictions will be prevented from being able to run a charity, unless they have clearance from the Charity Commission. The changes cover a wider range of criminal records and apply to certain senior manager roles as well as trustee positions.

Unlock has long opposed these changes – we continue to argue that they are disproportionate and an ineffective way of protecting charities. However, pragmatically we also need to make sure that both charities and individuals respond to the changes.

But worryingly, awareness of the changes is low. Research of small charities carried out by the Foundation for Social Improvement in partnership with Unlock has shown a low level of awareness and understanding of these changes amongst the voluntary sector. Of the 83 respondents to an online survey held in July 2018:

  1. 70% were not aware of the changes
  2. On a small of 1-10 on how confident charities were on understanding the impact on people involved in the charity:
    1. 34% scored 1 (the least confident)
    2. 65% scored 5 or less
    3. Only 10% scored 10 (the most confident)
  3. 4 charities had identified individuals that might be directly affected (i.e. potentially disqualified), yet none of those individuals had applied for a waiver.

It’s important that charities of all shapes and sizes get to grips with these changes, not just those that work in criminal justice. If you particularly involve people with criminal convictions in your organisation’s leadership, it is vital to understand what you can do to support people who are effected to be involved.

We published guidance, with the support of Clinks, in February of this year, to coincide with a new ‘advance’ waiver system that people could use if they were affected by the changes coming in next week. We’ve now updated the guidance, published today, to reflect the changes having fully come into force –  to help charities understand these changes and look at what steps to take to maintain and increase the involvement of people with criminal records within charities.

Two main things are now covered in the latest guidance:

  1. Advice on checking your governing documents – it’s quite common for provisions in articles that prevent people from being disqualified. Depending on how they’re worded, it can mean that a waiver from the Charity Commission has no effect. We’ve sought legal advice and advice from the Charity Commission, and included examples of where this might cause a problem, and provided suggested wording.
  2. Sample declarations for charities to use for trustees and senior managers covered by the rules

We’ve also got guidance for individuals – to help people understand if they’re affected, we’ve got a simple online tool – and also detailed guidance on applying for a waiver. In practice, people that are disqualified can apply for a waiver which, if granted, will mean they can still take up the role that they were previously disqualified from.

Moving forward, there’s a big question about the impact of these changes. We’ve always been concerned that these changes will make it much more difficult for charities to involve people with criminal records at senior levels in their organisation.

Ultimately, it’s important that neither individuals nor charities think that these changes mean people with criminal records can’t be involved in charities – they can and they should. To help with this, we encourage charities to make a firm commitment to involving people from diverse backgrounds, including people with convictions (particularly given the strong links to over-representation of Black and Minority Ethnic groups in the criminal justice system) and recruiting people on their skills and abilities first.

We are also encouraging charities to take 4 simple steps in dealing with the rules:

  1. Work out who the new rules cover in your charity and check your governing documents
  2. Ask those people in roles covered by the new rules if they are disqualified
  3. Support any individuals disqualified
  4. Update your policies and practices for recruiting new trustees and certain senior manager positions

We expect the commission to grant waivers to people who are clearly adding value to the charities that they’re involved in, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on any decisions they make to refuse waivers. The number of waiver applications so far is small – only a handle of people with convictions have applied for a waiver since 1st February, and many are still awaiting a decision.

Over the coming months we will be supporting charities that have individuals affected, as well as supporting individuals that are applying for a waiver, and continuing our policy work with the Charity Commission.

 

 

 

More information

  1. A news post about the changes coming into force today
  2. Our updated guidance for charities
  3. Our updated guidance for individuals
  4. The charity rule changes page on our website.

Almost three-quarters of applications for waivers from charity trustees or senior managers who face possible disqualification, have not yet been dealt with by the Charity Commission

New rules that disqualify people from being senior managers or trustees of charities if they have committed certain offences, will come into force on 1 August.

In an article published in Third Sector, Christopher Stacey comments on how Unlock, along with the criminal justice charities Clinks and the Prison Reform Trust, wrote to the Charity Commission in May to raise concerns about the implementation of the changes and the delays in processing waiver applications. The delays, however, continue.

New guidance and tools published to help charities and individuals deal with changes to charity rules and criminal records

Update – 1st August 2018 – Changes to the rule come into force and we publish updates to the guidance mentioned below

Unlock, a leading independent charity for people with convictions, has today published guidance to help charities, as well as those involved in them, understand and prepare for changes to charity rules and its impact on people with criminal records.

From 1st August 2018, changes to the ‘automatic disqualification’ rules mean that there will be more restrictions on those who may run a charity.

Today’s guidance, Leading charities with conviction, coincides with the opening of the Charity Commission’s new ‘waiver’ system. From 1st February 2018, people affected by these changes may use the system to apply for advance clearance.

Commenting on today’s guidance, Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock and author of the guidance for charities, said:

“There are over 11 million people in this country with a criminal record, and they play a vital role in contributing to charities.

 

“We would rather not have had to write this guidance. We believe the changes to the rules are unnecessary and ineffective. But as they are coming in, people need to act now. It’s important that neither individuals nor charities think that these changes mean people with criminal records can’t be involved in charities – they can and they should.

 

“Unlock’s message is this: don’t wait until August. If you’re involved in a charity and find that, from reading our guidance you’ll be disqualified from August 2018 because of your specific criminal record, today is the first day from which you may apply for a waiver. If you’re granted a waiver, it means you’re no longer disqualified.

 

“It’s also important that charities get to grips with these changes too. Understanding of the current rules is low, so it won’t be surprising if these changes are met with confusion and uncertainty by charities. Charities will need to update their recruitment processes to reflect the changes to the rules. That’s why we’ve worked with Clinks, the national infrastructure charity that supports the voluntary sector working in criminal justice in England and Wales, to produce simple, easy to use guidance and tools that will help boards of trustees, senior staff and HR managers understand what they need to do to prepare.”

Anne Fox, Chief Executive Officer of Clinks, the national infrastructure charity that supports the voluntary sector working in criminal justice in England and Wales, said:

“At Clinks we know that people with convictions have as much to offer civil society and the voluntary sector as anyone else. We believe that with the right support every individual can transform their lives.

 

“For charities working in criminal justice people with lived experience of the system are key to the difference we can make in the lives of people with convictions and their families – improving the quality and impact of the services on offer, and enabling services users to build a new identity which supports their journey to desistance from crime. For the wider voluntary sector a diverse range of trustees and staff is vital to ensure a broad range of perspectives, skills and knowledge.

 

“It is vital that organisations understand and prepare for these changes and how they might affect their trustees and senior staff. We are delighted to be working with Unlock to support the sector to do this”.

 

For more information

  1. Unlock is an independent, award-winning national charity that provides a voice and support for people with convictions who are facing stigma and obstacles because of their criminal record, often long after they have served their sentence.
  2. There are over 11 million people in the UK that have a criminal record.
  3. Unlock’s website is unlock.devchd.com.
  4. High-resolution images for media use are available from Unlock’s Flickr account.
  5. Our guidance for charities is available to download from http://recruit.unlock.org.uk/guidance/charities/
  6. Our guidance for individuals is available from https://unlock.org.uk/advice/leading-charities-with-conviction/
  7. An online tool to help individuals work out if they’re affected is available at https://unlock.org.uk/information-and-advice//charitytool
  8. Landing page on our website – Changes to charity rules
  9. Details of the policy work we’ve been doing on the changes to the rules

 

Background

The current rules only apply to trustees. People with unspent convictions for certain offences, including dishonesty and deception offences, are prevented from being a trustee until they apply for, and are granted, clearance from the Charity Commission.

There are two main changes happening in August 2018:

  1. There are more offences covered – including people on the sex offenders register
  2. There are more roles covered – the rules will apply to senior manager positions such as chief executives and chief finance officers

Today we’ve published two pieces of guidance – one for charities and one for individuals – as well as a simple online tool that helps people work out if the changes affect them.

Changes to rules for charities and criminal records – coming soon

Changes to the ‘automatic disqualification’ rules that affect who can run a charity, and particularly people with criminal records, will come into force on 1st August 2018.

The current rules only apply to trustees. People with unspent convictions for certain offences, including dishonesty and deception offences, need to be granted a waiver from the Charity Commission before they can be a trustee.

There are two main changes happening in August this year:

  1. There are more offences covered – including people on the sex offenders register
  2. There are more roles covered – the rules will apply to certain senior manager positions such as chief executives and chief finance officers.

But don’t wait until August. People involved in charities need to work out if they’re affected, and charities will need to update their recruitment processes to reflect the changes to the rules.

If you will be disqualified when the new rules change on the 1st August, you can apply for a waiver of your disqualification by the Charity Commission from 1st February 2018. There’ll be an application form on their website from that date, and if you’re currently involved in a charity in a way that you’d be disqualified, you’ll need to apply for a waiver as soon as possible for you to continue after 1st August.

We’ve been aware of these upcoming changes for a couple of years, and we’ve been working with the Charity Commission to make sure that, given they were being implemented, the changes happened in a way that didn’t unnecessarily exclude people with convictions and that charities felt confident in understanding and applying the rules.

That’s why we’re publishing guidance for both charities and individuals, and this will be available from the 1st February. Updates can be found on our landing page for changes to charity rules or you can sign up to our mailing list.

 

Coverage

Third Sector

Civil Society

 

More information

  1. The Charity Commission announced these dates in their January 2018 news.
  2. Updates can be found on our landing page for changes to charity rules or you can sign up to our mailing list.
  3. Find out more about the policy work we’ve been doing on the changes to the rules.

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