Sense, The National Deafblind and Rubella Association — Written evidence (CHA0040)
1.1 Sense is a national charity that for over 60 years has worked with people who are deafblind, and those with sensory impairments and complex needs. Sense supports and campaigns for people of all ages, from children through to older people, and provides information and advice, as well as specialist services to individuals, their families, and the professionals who work with them.
1.2 Sense (like many charities) relies on a combination of public finance from Local Authorities and charitable income from donors. This combination has traditionally brought added value.
2.1 Sense welcomes the House of Lords Select Committee’s inquiry into the sustainability of charities, the voluntary sector and the challenges of charity governance. We make a number of points below in response to the questions set by the committee.
2.2 While we believe there is always room for improvement we are concerned that the ‘tone’ of recent narrative undermines the work charities have undertaken over many years. We are not convinced that the responses to recent ‘exceptional situations’ are proportionate.
2.3 Charities themselves should do more to represent the whole sector rather than individual interests. We believe charities can and should be part of the solution. There is a responsibility on all of us to work towards that goal.
2.4 The period of austerity following the economic crash in 2007 has had a profound impact on public finances, particularly at a local authority level. This has impacted on the finances and sustainability of many charities, and consequently on the lives of vulnerable people. The financial pressures have continued as outlined below:
In contracted funding:
Historically:
Additionally and going forward:
In charitable funding:
The Charity Commission and Regulation
2.5 We note below that based on Charity Commission estimates there are currently around one million volunteer Trustees. We believe this is an important resource demonstrating that people are willing to be ‘active citizens’.
2.6 We also note a discernible increase in regulation, with resulting complexities and costs which we are not convinced is proportionate or indeed achieves the intended outcomes.
2.7 The Charity Commission and indeed the Government could do more to promote and celebrate the independent role that charities play and the many good things achieved by the sector.
Innovation and response
2.8 Sense is investing in social enterprise developments incorporating social care, local communities, business and fundraising. This integrated model benefits disabled people and their local communities. TouchBase models provide a range of services from social care to public facing café and arts and wellbeing initiatives (details are available).
2.9 We use a wide range of technology and digital aids and more could be done with increased investment.
2.10 We have almost 2,500 people volunteering across the charity every year who undertake a range of activities. This is one example of the public involvement of people with charities across the sector and the added value which our sector brings.
3.1 Sense was founded in 1955 by families who had deafblind children after being affected by rubella during pregnancy. Over the years Sense has developed new ways of tackling complex communication and mobility needs. This specialist knowledge has enabled the charity to diversify its support and reach a broader group of people with complex disabilities. Today we estimate there are approximately 356,000 people in the UK who are deafblind, 22,000 of them children. By 2030, Sense estimates there will be well over half a million people with sensory impairment over the age of 70 in the UK. In addition there are 250,000 people who are blind or visually impaired and have additional disabilities.
3.2 Sense employs over 2,000 people across our services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We provide a wide range of services; from 24 hour care in accommodation, to services in the community, supporting people to live in their own homes, or enabling people’s independence and creativity through our arts and sports programmes. We also have a College where people with complex disabilities between 16 and 25 can learn and develop. Sense has two sister charities - Sense Scotland and Sense International, which works with partner agencies in East Africa, India & Bangladesh, Peru and Romania providing services for deafblind children and adults.
4.1 Financial pressures on direct service delivery
4.1.1 Sense provides diverse services commissioned by Local Authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups, which range from high-level 24 hour care, to short term interventions of an hour or two a week to enable individuals to remain independently in their homes. Such support aims to increase independence, reduce isolation and avoid the need for expensive and unplanned interventions at a later stage. We believe if service provision charities such as Sense become less able to support beneficiaries, there is the real potential that significant costs will be accrued in the longer term – both financial, and in relation to outcomes of individuals.
4.1.2 Sense is commissioned by local authorities to provide a number of services to individuals with long-term complex disabilities. There is rising demand for support from our beneficiaries. For the majority of these care packages and placements, Sense has received no financial uplift from Local Authorities for the last 5-10 years (details are available).
4.1.3 Reduced or unpredictable funding causes other pressures, for example, on staffing where we wish to recruit and retain the best skilled staff. Where possible, we have offered annual salary increases to staff without any commensurate increase from the purchasing Local Authority. Sense estimates that the lack of Local Authority fee increases over a 10 year period is in excess of £4m. This is without including the cost of pension provision that has also grown for both historic scheme deficits and following auto-enrolment.
4.1.4 We welcome the commitment to the national living wage. We estimate this will add £3.2m to the Sense salary bill by the end of the full implementation in 2020. None of the 132 Local Authorities that Sense provides services for have committed to increasing their fees. It is likely that we will have to withdraw from a number of services. In addition the government is also proposing an Apprenticeship Levy. We estimate that this will cost Sense £900,000 over the next 5 years and again there is no indication that Local Authorities will increase fees.
4.1.5 Unsurprisingly Local Authorities (when commissioning services) are increasingly selecting providers more on cost, rather than the ability to deliver quality services. Cuts to Local Authority budgets also mean that commissioners can only provide services for people with the most complex needs, often at the expense of early intervention or preventative services. Sense used to provide some of these services through charitable funding. For example £1m per year for our specialist children’s services. Given the reductions in fundraised income we now have to reduce our charitable services. These range from practical ‘hands on’ support to children with complex needs and their families through to (non-mandatory) staff training, advice and information as well as investment for the future.
4.1.6 Given the above points, it is clear that the demands on the social care system are increasing, and that funding has not kept in step with demand. Further investment in social care will be vital to meet increasing needs (demographics, children with complex health needs surviving and older people living longer). It seems unlikely (as was the case in the past) that there will be sufficient charity finances to bridge the gap.
4.1.7 We are now seeing increased examples of real hardship. More families are reporting difficulties in getting a range of services from statutory required assessments and provision of short breaks for children, older people previously receiving communicator guide services (aimed at keeping people in their own homes) are having their hours cut and reductions in welfare benefits continue. These are all increasing need while resources are reducing (details are available).
4.2 Fundraising challenges
4.2.1 Since the case of Olive Cooke there has been a reported fall in public trust for charities, with charity fundraising coming under increasing public scrutiny. Although the cases highlighted in the press were concerning, we believe that such behaviours are the exception. There is evidence that Sense’s charitable funds have already fallen as a result and that this is replicated across the sector.
4.2.2 We appreciate that the full implications of leaving the EU are not yet known, but as an indication, in the previous 5 years Sense International has been awarded £1.5m in EU funding. We are not sure what equivalent funds will be available going forward.
4.2.3 Sense has over 90 shops across England, and these are another source of funding for the organisation. However, revenue from this source is also under pressure - there are difficulties in retail nationally and charity shops are no exception.
4.2.4 In addition to raising funds charity shops have a number of other benefits for the community, in terms of volunteer and work experience, providing confidence and enhancing people’s activity. Sense has about 1,100 people volunteering in our shops every week, with 5% of those people being involved because they have been sentenced to Community Service. Because of the donations of unwanted items to our shops 4,000 tonnes of waste is prevented from going to landfill every year.
4.2.5 The 80% mandatory charitable rate relief available to charity shops is therefore extremely important. We estimate that normal business rates would cost half of the income of a typical shop, which would make our trading operation unviable, leading to the loss of more than £1m per annum in charitable funds for Sense. The Government is currently proposing the devolution of all business rates to Local Authorities by 2020. While we understand that charities have ‘special status’ we wish to note the importance of the continuance of mandatory rate relief and the further loss of income that would bring to the sector if it came to an end.
4.3 Increased regulation and costs
4.3.1 One of the major changes in the last few years has been an increase in the number of regulators. In addition to the Charity Commission, Sense is also regulated by CQC (for our registered services), by Ofsted (for our education services to young adults), and by the Fundraising Regulator who has just taken over from the FRSB. Not only are there more regulators but the level of regulation has also changed.
4.3.2 Like other charities, Sense is under pressure to meet a range of different standards across a range of service areas. We recognise that it is early days but we consider the new fundraising regulations to be unclear, with different definitions and currently slightly different rules from overlapping agencies.
4.3.3 Given the above range of financial challenges we believe the sector has done well absorbing increased costs and would wish to ensure increased regulation is both effective and proportionate.
5.1 To ensure sustainability over the long term, charities need to be business-like, setting and managing budgets, business planning, managing risks and trying to extend much-needed services. Given the unpredictable nature of our sector and its funding (short-term contracts and grants and the need to bring in charitable donations), many charities are very adept at managing their funds. We have a long history of being innovative and business- like and Sense is dismayed that our sector seems to have failed in promoting this. We believe the core skills needed to run charities are the same as any other large, complex commercial organisation, in our case one which also has international links.
5.2 At the same time, charity motivations and values are different. We are run for our beneficiaries and deliver services that are often co-designed with the people we support. This fosters creativity and enables people to live their lives as fully as possible.
6.1 Trustees are responsible for the governance of charities and it is extremely important this is done well and that there is sufficient informed and skilled oversight. Whether the charity is large or small, governance is not easy.
6.2 The Trustees of Sense come from a variety of backgrounds, including people with sensory impairments, and those who have relatives in Sense services. This provides a direct link with the people we support. We believe this is of great importance and ensures that ‘customers’ are at the heart of our governance. A number of other Trustees are experienced business people from various spheres who bring enormous value to the Board. We believe that having a ‘balanced board’ provides the best type of governance for the charity and are concerned that the recent narrative might favour ‘professional Boards’.
6.3 The Trustees of Sense, like the vast majority of other Trustees, are volunteers and are not paid for their time or the level of responsibility which they assume for their organisations. This is an important form of public service.
6.4 We are concerned that the Charity Commission has recently noted (August 2016) that the Commission will look “sympathetically” on requests from charities to pay Trustees. It has long been held that most Trustees in our sector are not paid and given there are one million unpaid Trustees (Charity Commission figures) currently, this is entirely in line with a Civil Society agenda and active citizenship and is an unrecognised resource. Sense has no difficulty in attracting highly professional people, many wishing to ‘give something back’. We are dismayed that some regulators have chosen to pay their Board members (passing on those costs to the charities themselves) and would welcome our ‘Guardians’ ‘leading from the front’.
6.5 In larger charities the board has ultimate responsibility for the organisation but it cannot run it on a day to day basis. It is usual for there to be structured delegation from Trustees to skilled and experienced employees who can run the organisation. However there are signs that some regulators are now asking for more in-depth involvement. Ofsted for example are now requiring that for schemes involving childcare, a trustee should be the ‘registered person’ and legally responsible for complying with the regulations.
6.6 By taking this approach the boundary between governance and management is blurred. It may also have a major impact on the willingness of people to become Trustees because of the greater direct responsibility Trustees are increasingly asked to assume. This is a real move away from the traditional governance and management roles and we are not convinced this is the best way forward.
6.7 We note elsewhere that the approach of the Charity Commission of ‘promoting compliance by charity Trustees with their legal obligations’ is different to the approach previously taken and that their function of encouraging voluntary participation is also very important in their relationship with Trustees.
7.1 Charities can and do work with Local Authorities in a number of ways. The key area is through direct contracted services. Pressures on social care resources are impacting on our ability to deliver services.
7.2 Social enterprise, regeneration, employment, prevention and healthy living initiatives can be delivered in partnership. For example Sense is working with Sports England to deliver active/healthy lifestyles to vulnerable people. Sense is also working with the Department of Business and Innovation to support local community regeneration through the Regional Growth Fund.
7.3 Charities have an important role in a vibrant civil society, motivated by the desire to achieve social goals for beneficiaries, and build social capital. We believe charities are uniquely placed to innovate and develop solutions based on their closeness to and understanding of the needs of their beneficiaries.
7.4 We feel that government can do more to articulate and champion the role of the sector in building stronger communities. We hope that government will continue to support the role of the sector in influencing and informing policy.
8.1 While we welcome much of the Charity Commission’s CC20 guidance concerning the role of Trustees in fundraising, we would like to note that in the last three years the role of the Charity Commission and the way in which it undertakes its regulation of charities has changed. Its role as a regulator has been strengthened in response to concerns about a small number of charities. We are also aware that the funding of the Commission has been reduced.
8.2 The approach of the Charity Commission of ‘promoting compliance by charity Trustees with their legal obligations’ is different to the approach previously taken. It is important that the sector has a rigorous regulator which sets out to ‘Protect public trust and confidence in charities’ however we would suggest that the duty of ‘encouragement of voluntary participation in charity work’ set out in section 16 of the Charities Act 2011 is also important. To some extent this is a matter of tone (and we note in passing that the approach taken by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator is different, as evidenced for example, by the guidance to charities about the recent EU Referendum and thereafter fundraising concerns). We recognise this is a difficult balance but we question whether the current balance is right.
8.3 We feel that there is a growing perception within the sector that the Charity Commission appears to be increasingly critical of its ‘own sector’. We believe that the Commission could do more to fulfil an important ambassadorial role for Charities, by highlighting their positive contribution and how essential they are to their beneficiaries and civil society in general.
9.1 Charities have a very real accountability to their donors and have great responsibilities to their beneficiaries, many of whom are vulnerable.
9.2 As noted in the introduction Sense, like a number of other charities, was set up by beneficiaries and they are at the heart of all we do. We have been dismayed by the reports in the media which have portrayed charities behaving with apparently little or no respect or accountability to donors. Clearly, maintaining public trust and confidence in the charity sector is crucial. Charities have privileges in terms of tax and a moral responsibility. Our responsibility to the public therefore is not just about our charity, but the sector as a whole and we should be doing more to explain our work to a wider audience.
10.1 We note above the diversity of the services which we provide and that some of the most important pressures on us are increasing lack of public sector funding combined with a reduction in charitable funds. We have skilled and committed staff and ‘corporate knowledge’ built up over many years.
10.2 We tailor unique support packages built on individual choice, which enable individuals to meet their desired outcomes, including recreational and educational opportunities through their own unique Person Centred Plan.
10.3 Despite all the pressures, Sense continues to deliver a complex range of services to over 2,000 people. A consultant cardiac surgeon said ‘I could improve my outcomes/targets if I stopped doing complex surgery’. We believe it’s important to recognise the challenges of service delivery to people with complex needs. If it was easy we wouldn’t be here.
We have dealt with these earlier.
12.1 Innovation, whether digitally or in other ways, demands resources; financial, skills, time and energy. It is not easy to do this in the current climate.
12.2 Despite these financial pressures Sense is investing £14m in a TouchBase model for people with disabilities and the local community. The capital investment is a partnership of Sense, Trusts/Grants, corporate and fundraising. The on-going revenue is based on social care funding, grants and social enterprise. We believe this innovative model adds value financially but also brings people with disabilities and the local community together in a number of ways. TouchBase models offer an added value and sustainable contribution to the challenges of social care (details are available).
12.3 The continuing technological revolution has made life easier for people with sensory impairments, through computer aids and adaptations and the ability to make text larger on tablets and specially designed readers. We work with other charities on a Big Lottery funded project which gives people with multi-sensory impairments the same access to new technology as other people.
12.4 We also use a variety of technology to support individuals to be more independent and to use staffing more effectively. This can range from very simple applications like electronic flashing door bells, to full environmental controls that can do everything from turning lights on and closing the curtains, but also notify staff when for example someone has got out of bed during the night.
12.5 There is more that could be done in this area if we could generate further investment. However we would also add a word of caution, as people with complex needs will still need ‘human support’.
13.1 This response provides Sense’s view and perspectives on a number of the issues currently affecting charities. Sense Trustees and senior staff are pleased to have been given the opportunity to give our views and very much hope that this submission will be useful to the Select Committee. We hope that we are right to be confident that we still have ‘listening politicians’.
1 September 2016