Almost a million young people have yet to access savings contained in Child Trust Funds (CTFs), according to a report by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The PAC said over £1.7 billion is waiting to be claimed by a million young adults, at an average value of £1,900 each. It says ‘failure in long-term planning’ by HMRC means 42% of eligible 18-20-year-olds have n ...

For the ninth year running, Ward Williams took part in the Weybridge Rowing regatta on Friday 4th August. The regatta is organised by Weybridge Rowing Club, along the River Thames. The Regatta was created as a community initiative for local businesses to meet, network and compete in a sporting environment. This year the crew was made up of Ashley Clarke, James Roberts, Alista ...

HMRC has extended the voluntary national insurance contributions (NICs) deadline until 2025. Extending the voluntary NICs deadline until 2025 will give people more time to consider whether paying voluntary contributions is right for them, and also ensures individuals do not miss out on the possibility of boosting their State Pension entitlements. The original deadline was ext ...

HMRC is planning to close its self assessment tax helpline for three months over the summer to focus call centre resources on dealing with other problem calls. All calls to the helpline will be redirected to digital services over the period to give HMRC time to deal with other more urgent phone enquiries. The helpline will be closed for three months from Monday 12 June until ...

Charities that are registered for VAT should be aware that from the start of this year the way penalties are issued for submitting late VAT returns and for paying VAT late have been amended. A new points-based system has been introduced which is designed to be more lenient for the occasional error but still penalises those who repeatedly fail to comply with their obligations. C ...

The Fundraising Regulator has published research that shows that the majority of charities are not complying fully with the requirement to disclose details of the fundraising activities in their annual report, requirements that affect charities in England and Wales with income over £1 million. Compliance was better for those charities that pay the fundraising levy, but of them ...

Have you ever considered what your responsibilities are as a company director?  It is important to remember that as a company director good governance and board effectiveness are key requirements when making management decisions.  The appointment of a new director should be more than just a tick box exercise. It is also important to remember that a director’s prime responsibil ...

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published proposed changes to FRS102, the accounting standard upon which the charity reporting requirements set out in the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) is based. These proposals are set out in an exposure draft known as FRED82 and are currently being consulted upon. If approved the changes will also result in the need for th ...

Following the Bank of England’s latest increase in the base rate, HMRC has increased both late paid tax and the rate paid on repayments of tax. The Bank increased the base rate to 4.5% from 4.25% on 11 May, the 12the consecutive rise. The late payment and repayment interest rates follow this rise and are applied to the main taxes and duties that HMRC currently charges and pay ...

It’s been a busy few months at CCEW. As well as the guidance that has already been commented upon elsewhere in this edition of Charity News there have also been a number of other developments in their guidance for charities that are worth noting. First of all CCEW has developed a range of ‘5 Minute Guides’ designed to raise awareness of core trustee duties and the guidance tha ...