For the third year running, the Charities Against Fraud Awards will recognise and celebrate the achievements of people proactively fighting fraud in the charity sector.

Any individual, team or charity that set or achieve best practice or demonstrated an innovative approach in tackling fraud can enter.

The awards and ceremony are part of the International Charity Fraud Awareness Week 2019 (21 to 25 October).

The benefits of entering your charity include:

• showcasing your excellence in tackling fraud
• sharing best practice knowledge with others in your sector
• winning a half day counter fraud workshop

Small charity winner 2018

Colchester Foodbank won a charities against fraud award last year. Find out why they entered and how the award has benefitted their charity.

Charities Against Fraud Award 2018 winners.

How to enter

The entry pack has all the information you need including the award categories and what the judges will be looking for in a winning entry.

Entries open on Tuesday 20 August. The deadline is Friday 4 October at 5pm.

1. Download the entry pack
2. Submit your entry through the awards website

Attend the awards ceremony

The awards ceremony will take place early evening on Monday 21 October in London. It will include announcement of the award winners and an opportunity to meet and talk to some of the leading figures in the counter fraud and charity sectors.

There will be an opportunity to hear from the winners, and learn about how they are setting the standards in combating fraud.

Find out more about the ceremony and register for your free place.

Jonathon De Sousa (29), of Barnton, Northwich, was the director of Xternal Property Renovations Ltd, a property repairs and maintenance company.

From its incorporation in August 2015, the company relied heavily on direct marketing techniques – cold-calling members of the public to advertise their services – to generate business.

Xternal Property Renovations Ltd should have used the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) list before making these calls to screen out individuals who had elected not to receive them.

The renovations company did not access the list, however, and within 3 months in 2015 made over 110,000 calls to people registered with the TPS, who should not have received them.

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) received 133 complaints about the unsolicited calls and, following an investigation, the regulators concluded that Xternal Property Renovations were in breach of the Privacy and Electronic Communications regulations.

The maintenance company failed to provide the ICO with evidence that they had acted correctly and, in January 2017, the ICO informed Xternal Property Renovations that it was going to fine the company £80,000.

Before the penalty could be levied, however, Jonathon De Sousa placed the company into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation in March 2017.

An Insolvency Service investigation into Jonathon De Sousa’s conduct following the liquidation revealed that Xternal Property Renovations had also not paid £250,000 worth of taxes.

On 30 July 2019 the Secretary of State accepted a 5-year disqualification undertaking from Jonathon De Sousa after he did not dispute that he had caused his company to fail to comply with Privacy and Electronic Communications regulations and failed to pay the appropriate levels of tax.

Effective from 20 August 2019, he is prohibited from being involved in the formation, management, or promotion of a company without permission from the court.

Anthea Simpson, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:

It is not acceptable for companies to harass members of the public with unwanted marketing calls, and we will continue to work with the ICO to curtail the activities of unscrupulous directors.

Directors who try to evade the consequences of their actions by putting their company into liquidation should expect to be investigated, which could lead to them being disqualified from being a company director again for a number of years.

David Clancy, ICO’s Investigations Group Manager, said:

By working closely with the Insolvency Service we have been successful in stopping the illegal activities of company directors like Jonathon De Sousa who cause upset and distress to millions of people who are on the receiving end of nuisance marketing calls.

Our powers to protect the public from companies like his making nuisance calls have recently been made stronger than ever, as we can now make directors and managers of the companies personally liable for fines of up to £500,000. This will help stop them closing down one rogue company and setting up another business again.

Jonathon De Sousa is of Barnton, Northwich and his date of birth is January 1990.

Xternal Property Renovations Ltd (Company No. SC513380).

The direct marketing actions of Xternal Property Renovations Limited were in breach of regulations 21 and 24 of the Privacy and Eletronic Communications Regulations 2003.

In order to conduct direct marketing legally, companies must apply to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) for a licence annually. The TPS then provides licenced companies with a list of telephone numbers that cannot be used for direct marketing, as their owners have withdrawn their consent to receive those calls.

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

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Hundreds of residents from Bude to Penzance are set to benefit from improved mental health support as Amber Rudd announces £100,000 funding for a life-changing project.

The initiative means work coaches can continue to refer people with mental health conditions to specialist one to one support, without the need for a GP or clinical assessment.

As a result, people are able to get help early to tackle their condition before it worsens. The support is also designed to help people find their way back into the workplace when they’re ready.

Amber Rudd, Work and Pensions Secretary, said:

We want to reach people before their mental health spirals downwards – and this money will help to do just that.

The pilot proved that work coaches are well placed to make sure people get help quickly and are supported to get their lives back on track so I’m delighted that it can continue.

Importantly it has also shown that people trust their work coach to help them during their toughest times – and I’m very proud of that.

A successful pilot testing the approach, first launched in Penzance Jobcentre and expanded across Cornwall, has been running since March 2018 and the six-figure cash injection will bankroll the scheme to October 2020.

Terri Whitten, spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Jobcentres said:

We know that some people – for whatever reason – don’t want to be assessed in a clinical setting.

That’s a big reason why we’ve set this up – so work coaches can help people get the support they need.

The results we’ve seen so far prove without a doubt that this approach works. People really are being helped to manage their mental health and get their lives back on track.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced the funding during a visit to Truro Jobcentre and the community-based organisation Café Chaos which supports vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the town.

The Department for Work and Pensions will work with local partners, including the council, to secure the project further into the future.

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Education Minister Kemi Badenoch has today (20 August) announced the further rollout of the Get Help to Retrain digital service to the West Midlands and North East following a successful launch across the Liverpool City region last month.

The Get Help to Retrain digital service is the first of a series of products that will make up the Governments’ landmark National Retraining Scheme, which is being developed to support adults whose jobs may change due to new technologies – such as automation and AI – to retrain and get on the path to a new career.

Get Help to Retrain is designed to help adults to identify their existing skills, explore the different types of jobs and find training courses to gain the skills they need to progress. Dedicated support is also on hand from qualified careers advisers to guide people through the process and provide expert information and advice.

The service was initially trialled across the Liverpool City Region where users provided valuable feedback so it can be developed further. From today, the service will be available to more adults to test across the West Midlands and the North East, as well as continuing in the Liverpool City Region.

As the next phase of the rollout ramps up, adults will benefit from new and improved features including being able to explore a wider range of training options online and being matched to different types of jobs that they may not have considered they could do with their existing skills.

Education Minister Kemi Badenoch said:

Following the successful release of the Get Help to Retrain digital service in the Liverpool City Region, I am pleased to announce that from today, we are rolling it out to two additional areas – the North East and West Midlands.

Get Help to Retrain is just the start of the National Retraining Scheme, which will play a vital role helping adults whose jobs are at risk of changing or evolving due to new technologies to learn new skills and get on the path to a new, more rewarding career.

We’re starting off small and rolling it out in stages so we can test, refine and develop the service as we go and make sure we get it right for the people who need it.

Get Help to Retrain has started as a private service so it can be tested and developed further before being made available publicly across England from 2020.

Eligible adults – those aged 24 and over, with a qualification below degree level and working below a certain wage threshold – across the West Midlands, North East and the Liverpool City Region will be personally invited to test the service.

In the autumn, Get Help to Retrain will be rolled out to three more locations – the Leeds City Region, Cambridge and Peterborough, and the South West. A series of additional products that will make up the full service are being developed and tested in parallel, before being released at different times.

The National Retraining Scheme – backed by £100 million of Government investment – is a manifesto commitment and is a key part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy for building a country fit for the future.

The scheme is led and overseen by the National Retraining Partnership – a unique partnership between Government, the CBI and the TUC – to ensure the collective voices of businesses and employees are heard.

The National Careers Service in the Liverpool City Region, North East and West Midlands is supporting the testing of the scheme by providing qualified careers advisers to give expert information, advice and guidance to users of Get Help to Retrain.

Josh Hardie, CBI Deputy Director-General, said:

It’s encouraging to see National Retraining Scheme testing rolled out to other locations across the country. Ensuring the UK’s workforce is fit for the future is essential to improving productivity growth. It’s the only sustainable route to higher wages and living standards.

The world of work is changing, fast. The only way to help people adapt and learn throughout their careers is by employers and Government working together. The National Retraining Partnership should kick start a wider cross-government effort aimed at embracing the fourth industrial revolution.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

Every worker should have the opportunity to improve their skills and retrain. This is especially important as technology and automation are set to transform Britain’s economy in the coming years.

The launch of the first phase of the National Retraining Scheme is great news. It’s the beginning of collaborative approach between government, unions and business to provide retraining to many more working people so they are prepared for the jobs of the future. Union learning reps will play a central role helping workers access opportunities through the scheme.

These trials are just the beginning. We look forward to helping the National Retraining Partnership develop a full national programme to invest in the potential of all workers and deliver the skills we need for the future.

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands and former CEO of John Lewis, said:

From my days at John Lewis, I know just how fast technology moves in business. Artificial intelligence, self-driving vehicles and robotics are getting better, and in reality it is only a matter of time before real people will lose out to bots in the fight for jobs.

That is why re-skilling and digital training is vital for workers across the West Midlands in order to make sure they are prepared for the future.

Get Help to Retrain announced by government will do this, as well as help make sure businesses have the skilled workforce they need to develop in the long term. It goes hand-in-hand with my Beat the Bots scheme, where the West Midlands Combined Authority is spending £5 million to digitally train nearly 2,000 workers.

I am delighted the Secretary of State has chosen the West Midlands as one of the first areas in the country to have the scheme rolled out, and I look forward to working closely with him to make sure it is a success.

Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director, North East Local Enterprise Partnership, said:

As our regional employment landscape changes and evolves, we need to support our local workforce to adapt. It’s therefore welcome news that the North East has been chosen as one of the first regions to be involved in the Get Help to Retrain scheme.

This programme will help adults in our area whose jobs could be at risk, to explore their options, develop skills and access new work opportunities. The scheme will also help to support better productivity in our region, by matching skills more closely with employers’ needs.

Although this scheme will target a relatively small number of adults initially, we would gladly support its extension to a wider workforce in the future if it proves to be successful.