The British Water Cooler Association (BWCA) has launched a ‘major’ sustainability programme that will focus on five key actions over the next five years. The flagship 5 for 5 Sustainability Pledge will take effect in January, and covers environmental sustainability, water management, social sustainability, financial sustainability and workplace sustainability, including employee wellbeing. “Ours is one of the most sustainable sectors,” said BWCA chairman John Dundon. “Our new sustainability programme of work will deliver that message to a wider audience. It will also serve to enable members to share best practiceSEE DETAILS

It was decided at a meeting in early February between charities and the Treasury not to press ahead with changes. It follows two years of discussions over options that included removing income tax relief for donors who were higher-rate taxpayers and replacing it with an increase in the tax relief to be claimed directly by charities. The Treasury was deterred from making changes by its reluctance to impose any extra burden on the exchequer, coupled with a fear of creating winners and losers within the charity sector. The Treasury plansSEE DETAILS

Mervyn Pilley has joined Not For Profit Business Services as Chief Executive. A qualified accountant and Chartered Manager, Mervyn has twenty plus years of experience running membership organisations, both as a Board and Committee member and also as a paid CEO/Executive Director. His passion for all things Membership goes back fifty years! He has been involved in two 100 year old membership organisations and has also set up a Trade Association from scratch. Mervyn has dealt with all aspects of membership management and is driven to establish membership management asSEE DETAILS

Millions of families visit the UK’s iconic visitor attractions during the school holidays, but only 14% of parents think that children’s food at popular attractions is good enough! “Visitor attractions are making life hard for parents who want to enjoy a healthy and happy day out,” said Rob Percival, Soil Association Policy Officer. Over the past few months the Association has worked with parents, to uncover unhealthy pre-packed lunchboxes, dodgy ingredients, and a lack of transparency about food sourcing practices in the UK’s most popular museums, art galleries, zoos, visitorSEE DETAILS

In summary the treatment of VAT relating to this change is: any work completed before 1 January 2010 will be subject to VAT at 15% any work spanning 1 January 2010 can either be subject to VAT at 17.5% on completion or split between that portion up to 31 December 2009 at 15% and 17.5% thereafter any work invoiced or paid for before 31 December relating to services after 31 December 2009 will be subject to VAT at 15% The rate change is the last point which HMRC has soughtSEE DETAILS

The Association has an annual continuing education programme, the high points of which are the Peter Taylor Annual Memorial Address, an open lecture delivered by a senior member of the judiciary in memory of our first President, the later Lord Chief Justice, Lord Taylor of Gosforth, a weekend Residential Clinical Negligence seminar in the second or third week of September which alternates between colleges at Oxford and Cambridge, and the annual Saturday seminar on Solicitors’ Negligence in October. The PNBA also promotes basic education for juniors and returners to practiceSEE DETAILS

Following a robust assessment, the PRP Board has decided that IMPRESS meets all its criteria, including independence from the print and online publishers it regulates, and appropriate funding, making it the UK’s first independent press regulator. Recognition was granted at a meeting in London on 25th October. IMPRESS meets all twenty-nine criteria of the Charter which – in England and Wales – sits alongside the Crime and Courts Act 2013. Since 3rd November 2015, under the Act, publishers who are not a member of an approved regulator could face theSEE DETAILS

The UK has produced a new updated public notice 709/5 which explains how you must account for VAT if you buy-in and re-sell travel facilities directly as an association and act as a principal or undisclosed agent (that is, acting in your own name). This notice should be read in conjunction with Notice 709/6 Travel agents and tour operators. This updated version of the notice has been produced primarily to include important changes to TOMS legislation and practice which come into effect from 1 January 2010. These changes have alreadySEE DETAILS

Come at see us on stand 50 at CHASE 2015 Why not visit us at CHASE on 16-17th February 2016 being held at the Business Design Centre, Islington, London. This Charities and Associations Event is free to attend and visitors can attend a wide range of free seminars and talk to a number exhibitors that are suppliers of goods, services and advice operating in the not for profit sector. Registration is now open http://www.conferencehouse.co.uk/chase-2016

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a consultation on its Mission, which is designed to provide a guiding set of principles around the strategic choices the FCA makes. It will inform the FCA’s strategy and day-to-day work over the coming years. On 1 April 2013, the FCA became responsible for the conduct and supervision of all regulated financial firms and the prudential supervision of those not supervised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). However, with finite resources and objectives set by Parliament, its overarching strategic objective is to ensureSEE DETAILS