Category Archives: Charities

A vital pause

Posted on February 19, 2014 by ianchisnall

If this logo is not familiar or at least recognisable, then you have probably not seen the leaflet which the Government commissioned to tell us about their data sharing scheme known as Care.Data. Further details on the scheme can be found … Continue reading →

Posted in Charities, Health Reform, Parliament and Democracy, Police & Crime Commissioner | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Self inflicted wounds

Posted on February 14, 2014 by ianchisnall

Almost half of all 16 and 17-year-olds in the country are missing. From the national electoral register, that is. This means that they won’t be able to vote when they turn 18. This is clearly disturbing and on Tuesday it led Natascha Engel … Continue reading →

Posted in Charities, Education, Lobbying Bill, Parliament and Democracy, Youth Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What is so special about Greggs?

Posted on January 31, 2014 by ianchisnall

I confess to enjoying pies and cakes, and in my lifetime have eaten many of them, including quite a few from Greggs and even some from their original Gosforth store where they sell the wonderful Stotty’s. I would not suggest that their produce … Continue reading →

Posted in Charities, Lobbying Bill, Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

For the want of a vote……..

Posted on January 29, 2014 by ianchisnall

The damaging and dangerous Lobbying Bill is about to become Law following votes in the Lords last night. Despite one very close result – 245 for and 245 against – all of the attempts by the Lords to reinstate their own … Continue reading →

Posted in Charities, Lobbying Bill, Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Are we ready for change?

Posted on January 24, 2014 by ianchisnall

Yesterday I attended two significant meetings each with a focus on the work of local statutory services in the period 2015-2020. Although substantial cuts have been made to many of our services (Police, Local Government, Health, Fire and Rescue) to … Continue reading →

Posted in Charities, Community Safety, Economics, Education, Parliament and Democracy, Policing, Welfare Reform, Youth Issues | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What do we mean by lobbying

Posted on January 4, 2014 by ianchisnall

The gagging Bill has be through all of its stages in the House of Commons and is now 80% of the way through the Lords. Although many opportunities have been lost to improve the legislation, largely through ignorance or arrogance in the Government and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Charities, Lobbying Bill, Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Two sides to an inspiring story

Posted on January 3, 2014 by ianchisnall

The majority of the 163,000 charities in England and Wales are small organisations and very local in terms of their field of operations. According to the Charity Commission website 75% of charities have an income that is less than £100,000 and whilst … Continue reading →

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500 Days and counting

Posted on December 26, 2013 by ianchisnall

500 days ago, the London 2012 games finished and the £425M that the Government borrowed from the Big Lottery came due, based on promises they made at the time the funds were sequestered. Perhaps in the season of goodwill Maria … Continue reading →

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Its not over yet

Posted on December 14, 2013 by ianchisnall

On Monday, the House of Lords will resume the Committee stage of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill 2013-14. This was paused on Armistice Day (quite a significant date) as the Lords demanded either that … Continue reading →

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A Boxing Day Surprise?

Posted on December 10, 2013 by ianchisnall

According to this mornings news, Maria Miller is planning to meet later today with the leaders of a number of Sports bodies to discuss how their organisations can reduce the impact of spot fixing. This follows on from allegations of spot fixing … Continue reading →

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