An inquiry by the Charity Commission into the charity Public Safety Charitable Trust (PSCT) has concluded that there was misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees.

The charity will be removed from the register of charities once the liquidator’s final report and forms are submitted to Companies House to dissolve the company.

The charity was set up to broadcast public service messages to communities via Bluetooth equipment situated close to shopping centres in towns and cities across the country. It claimed to have broadcast to approximately 2 million people.

The charity took out leases on empty properties and placed equipment in them to broadcast information about crime in the area. Businesses received a reduction in their business rates for leasing properties to a charity, and in return paid a donation to PSCT.

When the inquiry opened, the charity held approximately 2,000 leases for properties in 240 local authorities.

The Commission first engaged with the charity in October 2011 after concerns regarding business rates relief claimed by the charity were raised by several local authorities that subsequently took the charity to court.

The matter eventually came to the Court of Appeal in May 2013, which found solely operating Bluetooth transmitters in premises was not sufficient for charitable purposes. As a result of this judgement, the charity became liable for approximately £17 million in business rates on the premises it leased.

The Commission opened a statutory inquiry at the time, but this was placed on hold after a compulsory liquidation petition was issued by the Insolvency Service and the charity began to be wound up on 8 July 2013.

The Commission’s inquiry found the trustees contracted with Commercial Link Ltd (“CL”) as the sole provider of the Bluetooth technology, equipment and services to the charity, and the company had control over the charity’s records and administration – to the exclusion of the trustees.

The inquiry also found the trustees could not show they had acted in the charity’s interests in leasing properties and subjecting the charity to the risks of financial loss for business rates. The trustees claimed to have taken adequate legal advice, although as part of the agreement with CL the charity retained responsibility for any liabilities and the trustees did not show any evidence as to how they mitigated for this risk.

The trustees have been disqualified. Mark Ferguson was disqualified for 9 years on 25 May 2017 and Christine Sutton was disqualified for 5 years, from 15 July 2015 from acting as company directors by the Insolvency Service, in accordance with the criteria set out in the Directors Disqualification Act 1986, and as a consequence, from being trustees or holding a senior position at a charity, for their conduct in this matter.

Amy Spiller, head of the investigations team at the Charity Commission, said:

Being a charity is meaningful – we expect trustees to be accountable and demonstrate their worth to the public and donors. The trustees of Public Safety Charitable Trust could not show this, instead they undermined the meaning of charity by enabling businesses to avoid paying business rates, resulting in the charity taking on huge liabilities they could not afford and consequently costing the charity’s future. It’s right that trustees have been disqualified and the charity will be removed from the register.

Ends

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The UK government is arranging a special charter flight to Melbourne, Australia, for around 40 British travellers stranded in Fiji who will then be able to return home by booking a commercial flight from Melbourne back to London.

The flight will depart Nadi for Melbourne on Wednesday 29 April, where passengers will be able to access a commercial Qatar Airways flight to London. The UK Government has worked closely with the Fijian and Australian authorities and Qatar Airways to secure this route.

There are currently no commercial flight options from Fiji and this is expected to be the only UK Government charter flight. So British travellers who want to return home, are being encouraged to book at the Fiji Travel Advice page.

Foreign & Commonwealth Office Minister of State, Zac Goldsmith said:

The UK Government is committed to supporting Brits across the world, which is why we’ve arranged this special charter flight for those stranded in Fiji to help them get home.

At the same time we know Cyclone Harold has done huge damage to the island. We are here to support Fiji in response to this disaster and in the fight against coronavirus.

The British High Commissioner to Fiji, Melanie Hopkins said:

I’m pleased we have been able to charter a flight out of Fiji, with the support of Fiji Airways and the Fijian authorities.

The British High Commission will be in touch with as many British travellers as possible in the coming days to arrange safe journeys and will continue to provide consular support to any British nationals who remain in the Fiji and require assistance.

The High Commission will help secure transit exemptions through Australia for British travellers confirmed on this flight who have booked onward travel to their final destination within 72 hours of arrival in Melbourne and have contacted the British High Commission Suva with their details.

Spare seats on the flight out of Fiji will be offered to EU nationals who wish to return to their countries of residence.

The UK Government is working with the airline industry and host governments across the world to help bring back British travellers to the UK as part of the plan announced by the Foreign Secretary on 30 March 2020 with up to £75 million available for special charter flights from priority countries, focused on helping the most vulnerable travellers.

• A new campaign ‘Care for others. Make a difference’ today launched to support aim to attract thousands more people into social care sector
• Highlights the vital role of the social care workforce during the pandemic, along with the longer-term opportunity of working in care
• Rapid training and work programme will be set up

The campaign, titled ‘Care for Others. Make a Difference’, will look to inspire the public to consider a career in social care.

To help fill the recruitment gap, the Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock and Care Minister Helen Whately today launch the campaign to encourage the right people with the right values and attributes to consider a paid career in adult social care work.

The campaign includes the new CARE brand for social care which symbolises the entire care profession – like the iconic and recognisable NHS logo. The brand aims to raise the profile of the care sector and allow businesses to show them the same appreciation as NHS workers.

Free-to-access e-learning courses and webinars for local authority and care provider staff are also being developed on how to maintain good care in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. Key topics will include: safeguarding, person-centred care, dementia, Mental Capacity Act, infection control and supporting care at home to reduce pressure on the NHS. 

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock said: 

During these unprecedented times we are all grateful to the huge number of social care workers working day and night to provide quality care to the most vulnerable in our society.

The whole country wants to thank the 1.5 million of you for your inspirational and tireless work.

I want this campaign to reignite the search for people with a zest for caring and protecting our most vulnerable to step forward to join them.

 Helen Whately, Minister of State for Care, comments:

The care sector is a vital part of our society, and this pandemic has truly brought home the skill and commitment of care workers who are looking after some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.

We want to make sure everyone knows what an important and valued job care workers do, and inspire more people to step forwards to join the care workforce.

We also want to support care providers who are looking to recruit staff, so we are offering free initial training to applicants considering a job in care. This should help job seekers looking to work in care for the first time and their future employers.

We want to bring together all those thinking they might work in care with social care providers looking for new recruits, and to make it as simple as possible for the doors to open up for thousands more compassionate and committed people to work in care.

Skills for Care have worked with the government to make rapid online induction training accessible. This includes key elements of the Care Certificate and is available free of charge. This will provide good practice resources and support for social care professionals to help the sector meet the challenge of COVID-19.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, comments:

There are thousands of people who are kind, skilled and dedicated and who have the necessary values and qualities to become part of the social care workforce. Social care transforms lives and enables people to live well. The satisfaction and rewards of delivering social care are incalculable and we hope that there will be many people who will come into the social care workforce and achieve a satisfying and rewarding career.

Joint Chief Social Worker for Adults, Mark Harvey and Fran Leddra, said:

We have both worked in social care all our lives and everyday find ourselves in awe of the dedication and commitment that the workforce  have always shown. They provide care and support to sustain some of the most important elements of our lives – relationships, companionship, inclusion, meaning, independence and aspiration. At a time when social care is valued more than ever, we hope that this campaign inspires others to join our talented workforce.

Skills for Care CEO Oonagh Smyth said:

We know that significant numbers of social care staff are unable to work so realising this ambition of recruiting thousands of people to where they are needed by providers right across the country is absolutely vital.

Some of our network of endorsed training providers have secured funding to deliver learning for new staff so they have the skills and knowledge needed to make a real difference in the lives of the people they will be working with and in their communities.

Chris Hyams, CEO at global job site Indeed, commented: 

Looking for work in the current job market can feel challenging. Indeed’s mission is to help people get jobs, and today we are proud to form a partnership with DHSC to help jobseekers find key roles on the frontlines in social care. Making a leap into another sector may feel daunting but now is a great time to consider new fields. To those ready to work and make a difference, Indeed is here to help.

Currently, 1.49 million people work in adult social care, but the coronavirus outbreak has put additional pressure on the vital work already being provided by the sector.

The most important qualities needed in care workers are an ability to treat others with respect, listen to their needs, understand their emotions and be warm, kind and honest. A good standard of English, numeracy and digital skills, attention to detail and the ability to work as part of a team is also important.

The Department of Health and Social Care has been working with both care providers and recruitment agencies and is calling for all relevant organisations to ensure vacancies are advertised or listed on www.everydayisdifferent.com.

Many job boards, including Indeed, Monster, Reed, Totaljobs Group and TARGETJobs are offering support to help fill these vacancies. This ranges from free job listings to free advertising.

Last week the government published its adult social care action plan. The plan outlined activity to attract previously registered social workers in England, occupational therapists and nurses to return to the sector to support the frontline effort.

Over 7,000 retired nurses have responded to a call to return to employment, some of whom will be deployed to care settings.

Former social workers who have left the profession have also been invited back to return to employment – with the aim that 8,000 social workers could be supported to return to work if they wish to. Over a thousand individuals have already expressed an interest in returning to social care during the outbreak.

The government’s adult social care action plan, published last week, sets out how we are protecting workers by ramping up testing across the system for care workers and their families. We’re ensuring millions of additional personal protective equipment (PPE) items reach those on the frontline with local resilience forums identifying those most in need of more.

The Secretary of State has written to local authorities outlining how the £1.6 billion funding for local authorities should support adult social care providers and workers. To ensure this additional funding is making a difference, we are asking local authorities to provide information about the distribution of this funding to providers.

• Campaign imagery and film content can be downloaded from Dropbox
• We work with a range of organisations in an in-kind capacity, to help people recognise what a great career option adult social care can be so that we can recruit staff with the right values and skills. We are always open to working with other organisations who:
  • are connected to the social care industry – for example, are a care provider, recruiter or advertiser of social care vacancies or a career advice service
  • can reach our target audience of 20 to 39 year olds using a range of channels
  • please contact everydayisdifferent@dhsc.gov.uk for more information.