Press release: MPs’ outside interests: Committee announces short review

The Committee met today and discussed the subject of MPs’ outside interests.

We will make a further submission on ‘reasonable limits’ for outside interests to the Commons Committee on Standards’ on-going inquiry into the Code of Conduct for MPs. We will be holding a short review to inform our submission. Given the public interest in these issues, we welcome contributions from all interested parties. The Terms of Reference will be available on our website next week.

It is for the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and the House of Commons Committee on Standards to rule on individual cases.

Green MEP slams government over failure on ‘cheap’ renewables

23 March 2017

Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for the South West, has accused the government of failing consumers and the environment over energy policy. The accusation follows new projections from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) which estimate that onshore wind and solar will be as cheap or cheaper than gas by 2020 [1]. BEIS now acknowledge an increased role for renewables, particularly due to potential improvements in battery storage. Molly Scott Cato said:

“Having hammered the renewables sector for ideological reasons, the government now discovers that wind and solar are set to become the cheapest ways to generate electricity.

“Government energy policy supposedly seeks to deliver secure, affordable and low carbon energy. They have failed on all three counts. But in particular we now see that by failing to pursue a transition to renewable energy they have missed the opportunity to provide electricity for the consumer at the lowest cost.”

Two years ago, Dr Scott Cato commissioned a report which concluded that the South West could generate over 100% of its energy needs from a mix of renewable sources and create 122,000 new jobs through a renewable energy transition [2]. She said:

“The UK has some of the best potential for renewable energy generation in Europe. It is clear that renewable energy should form the backbone of our economic strategy post-Brexit. This will not only be good for the economy and for creating thousands of new jobs, it would, by the government’s own belated acknowledgement, be good for consumers too.”

[1] https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-dramatic-shift-uk-government-outlook-gas-clean-energy

[2] http://mollymep.org.uk/2015/04/17/power-to-transform/

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Press release: John Cridland CBE and the Government Actuary’s Department release reports into the future State Pension age

Two reports have been published today that will help inform the government’s review of the State Pension age which is due in May 2017.

The John Cridland report looked at the key issues that drive State Pension age changes including, but not limited to:

life expectancy
the challenges faced by those who rely most on the State Pension
the long-term financial sustainability of the system

The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) was asked to consider 2 alternative scenarios for the State Pension age, reflecting an adult in receipt of the State Pension for either 32% or 33.3% of their projected adult life in retirement. To do this it used figures drawn from life expectancy projections from the Office for National Statistics.

In his report, which will be considered before any decision is made on changes to the State Pension age timetable after 2028, Mr Cridland makes a number of recommendations including:

State Pension age should rise to 68 between 2037 and 2039
State Pension age should not increase more than 1 year in any 10 year period, assuming that there are no exceptional changes to the data used
that all employers should have elder care policies in place which set out a basic care offer
that people should be able to access a mid-life career MOT and review which should be facilitated by employers and by the government using online support and through the National Careers Service

Meanwhile, the Government Actuary’s Department report concludes that:

under a 32% scenario the State Pension age could rise to 69 between 2040 and 2042
under a 33.3% scenario the State Pension age could reach 69 between 2053 and 2055

No new changes to State Pension age will come into effect before 2028 and the government is committed to maintaining a State Pension that is fair for all generations and helps to provide for the cost of living in retirement. Part of this commitment to fairness includes providing 10 years’ notice of any changes to the State Pensions age.

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Press release: Trustees of Ipswich Kurdish Islamic Cultural Centre breached their legal duties, regulator finds

The Charity Commission has today (23 March 2017) published a report of its statutory inquiry into the Ipswich Kurdish Islamic Cultural Centre (registered charity number 1149580) (‘the charity’), concluding that there was misconduct and mismanagement in the charity’s administration.

The report sets out multiple failings by the trustees and concludes that the charity’s financial management was poor.

The inquiry, which began in November 2015, found that the trustees:

made unauthorised salary payments to one trustee amounting to £1,360, even though the charity’s governing document prohibits the employment of trustees
provided a zero interest loan to 2 members of the local community totalling £20,000 which amounted to twice the size of the charity’s 2015 income
did not have a safeguarding policy in place despite the fact that the charity operates weekend classes for children

The report also criticises the trustees’ approach to engaging with the Commission, saying that their conduct fell below that which the regulator and the public expect, including by initially failing to take prompt action to address concerns identified by the Commission before it opened the inquiry. Following the opening of the inquiry, and as reflected in the report, the Commission acknowledges improvements in the trustees’ conduct.

As part of the inquiry, the Commission has made an order requiring the trustees to complete a number of actions to address the failings and regulatory concerns identified.

The report states that the regulator will take further regulatory action if the trustees fail to comply with the order within a stated timeframe.

Michelle Russell, Director of Investigations Monitoring and Enforcement at the Charity Commission said:

Our inquiry into the Ipswich Kurdish Islamic Cultural Centre found serious problems and basic failures. As our core guidance, The essential trustee, explains, trustees must comply with their charity’s governing document and the law and must manage their charity’s resources responsibly. That hasn’t always happened at this charity, putting it at risk of not being able to carry out its charitable purposes. I now hope the trustees take the necessary steps we have set out in our Order to improve the charity’s governance in the future.

The full report is available on GOV.UK.

Ends

PR 21/17

Notes to editors

The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.
Search for charities on our online register.

Statement from Caroline Lucas on the Westminster attack

22 March 2017

Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, has responded to Wednesday’s attack in Westminster.

She said:

“Our thoughts go out to all those affected by today’s attacks and we send deep thanks to the public servants who responded so quickly, bravely, and with care to treat the injured and minimise the number of casualties. We pay tribute to the lives that were so sadly lost and in particular to the police officer who died in the line of duty – we are truly in his debt.

“The response to such a heinous attack must be to strengthen our democracy, and refuse to give in to those who would harm it.”

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