Hello and welcome to Number Ten.

Firstly, I’d like to apologise that I’m not the Prime Minister…

But it’s an honour to address so many people who do so much, working tirelessly every day, to make life better for the citizens of this country.

For this I would like to thank you and this is a view that is shared by the Prime Minister and the whole Government.

All of you in this room have made a valuable contribution to society, and have helped improve life in your communities through your charitable work.

I applaud all our charities – not only those in the room here today.

Every parliamentarian is aware of the amazing work you do. Just last Friday I was at a Cancer Research UK store in Newmarket in my constituency, where I heard about the fundraising and the research that they do.

After the visit, one of my colleagues who was on the visit came up to me and said that without cancer research funding she wouldn’t be here today.

You do a huge amount to help people in their communities, and respond to those in need wherever they find them.

We all share a mission.

Whether it’s in Government, the public sector or the charitable sector, we are all in our jobs to serve the public and to improve people’s lives. That is what gets us out of bed in the morning.

We all want the same results, and we will achieve them so much more effectively, if we work together. There is so much we can do.

I believe the future lies in greater collaboration, not only between charities and Government, but with business too.

You have all played your part, whether it’s through fundraising, donating, volunteering or making a corporate contribution.

My brilliant colleague Tracey Crouch announced in November that she intends to develop a Civil Society Strategy. I really hope that you will work with her to make this happen.

And just like you found the door today open, my door is always open to you.

Thank you so much again for all your work – this reception is the very least that we can do for you all. Have a wonderful afternoon.

Do you want to play a leading role in advising the government on a range of issues relating to police pay and conditions?

Time commitment:

The expected time commitment for the chair is around 25 to 27 days per year and around 20 days per year for members.

Remuneration:

Remuneration for the chair is £350 per day and for members is £300 per day, along with reimbursement for reasonable travel and subsistence costs.

Number of roles:

One chair and 3 member roles.

The Police and National Crime Agency remuneration review bodies were established in 2014, and provide independent advice to the government on police pay and conditions, and the pay of National Crime Agency (NCA) officers with operational powers.

Police officers are subject to restrictions on their industrial rights, including a prohibition on their right to strike; the same is also true of NCA officers designated with operational powers. It is essential that the review bodies are able to inspire the confidence of officers from both workforces.

These key posts will provide an influential and intellectually stimulating challenge for the right individual contributing to recruiting, retaining and motivating an effective NCA and police workforce. As chair you will be a strong leader who can ensure that the review bodies are robust in their consideration and analysis of evidence in order to deliver timely recommendations.

As a member you will bring your own expertise to the review bodies, alongside a high degree of analytical ability, strong communication skills, and an understanding of the issues facing complex organisations. Membership is to both review bodies.

Appointment will be for a minimum of 3 years.

You can read more information and how to apply.

The closing date for receipt of applications is midnight on Sunday 4 March 2018.

We value and promote diversity and are committed to equality of opportunity for all. Appointment will be made on merit following an open, fair and transparent competition.

The procurement process for CLA education and discrimination services from 1 September 2018 is to be cancelled.

We are contacting affected organisations to let them know that we will not be awarding any CLA contracts for education and discrimination services through the current process.

Why are you cancelling the process?

This decision was taken following receipt of insufficient compliant tenders. The procurement process would not have resulted in the award of the intended number of CLA contracts to provide education and discrimination services.

How will these announcements be made?

We will formally write to each affected organisation using the e-Tendering system, advising them of this cancellation, from 5 February 2018.

What will happen next?

We will be contacting each affected organisation to discuss next steps.

Provider enquiries

An update concerning this announcement has been published on our legal aid pages on GOV.UK:

Civil 2018 contracts tender

The Charity Commission has discharged Michael King of Stone King as Interim Manager (IM) of the charity MA 1985 (registered charity number 295224). (This charity was formerly known as Muslim Aid – “the charity”).

In November 2013, the regulator opened a statutory inquiry into the charity to examine a number of financial irregularities relating to areas of the charity’s overseas activities. In January 2015, as part of the investigation the Commission issued an order requiring the charity to improve its governance and financial management. The charity was given 12 months to comply with the order. The Commission kept its inquiry open to monitor the charity’s progress and ensure its compliance.

The charity co-operated with the Commission throughout the inquiry and monitoring phase, but during the continued engagement it became clear that the charity was not able to resolve matters and comply with the order itself. As a result in October 2016, the Commission used its powers under the Charities Act 2011 to appoint Michael King as IM of the charity. At around the same time, the charity also appointed a new Chief Executive who committed to working with the IM and resolving matters. Since the Interim Manager’s appointment, he has conducted a thorough governance and infrastructure review of the charity and its activities, resulting in the incorporation of MA 1985 (295224) into a new Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) – Muslim Aid (registered charity number 1176462).

The IM has overseen the dissolution of MA 1985 (295224) (removed from the Register of Charities 1 February 2018) ensuring the transfer of all assets and liabilities to the CIO, Muslim Aid (1176462) and setting up a new trustee board which took office from 31 January 2018.

The new board of trustees, working with the CEO Jehangir Malik OBE and his senior team, will be responsible for managing and overseeing the implementation of future improvements required to ensure that the charity moves forward in a compliant manner and on a positive footing to continue its charitable work.

The Commission will be shortly closing its investigation and issuing an action plan to the new trustees to ensure that they build on the good progress made so far and continue to improve the charity’s governance and financial management, especially those relating to the management of Muslim Aid CIO’s country offices. The Commission will monitor the charity’s continued progress to ensure it complies with the action plan. The regulator will consider further use of its statutory powers if the charity does not continue to make timely and sufficient progress or fails to comply with the action plan.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were, which will happen in due course.

Ends

Notes to editors

1. The Charity Commission is the regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see the about us page on GOV.UK.
2. Search for charities on our check charity tool.