Thistle Foundation’s Post

At Thistle Foundation we support people with disabilities, autism and long term health conditions to live good lives. This is support that government agencies are required to provide by law to ensure people get the support they need to be safe, well, and live lives of meaning, purpose, and contribution. Government agencies have contracted Thistle and many other not-for-profit organisations to provide this support. As we dont make a profit we have no means of raising this additional £292,000 required by the UK Government's decision on National Insurance. In short if this decision is not completely reversed it will make our support even less financially sustainable and put the support we provide at risk. Alongside our colleagues we are calling for relief in full and a UK policy change on Employers National Insurance for all UK not-for-profit providers of public services. Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Keir Starmer Anas Sarwar Louise Farmer Steve Coulson Julie Gardner Carolyn Baggs Dawn MacNeil Heather Simmons William Oviatt Lynton Kahan Rachel Cackett Maree Todd Shona Robison

There will be a debate in Parliament today regarding the budgeted increases on Employer National Insurance contributions. Whilst Labour will dominate the vote, I hope they listen to all voices to really understand the impact this will have, particularly on charities and the voluntary sector. The services they provide are at risk as they will not be able to absorb or pass on these additional costs. If they can avoid making redundancies, pay increases will certainly be curtailed again. For those of us who work with local authorities and NHS Trusts, we will be reliant on them providing an uplift to cover salaries, otherwise the services provided will be compromised, affecting the most vulnerable. To all Labour Party (UK) MPs, please enter this debate with an open mind. Rt Hon Rachel Reeves & Keir Starmer - please admit that mistakes have been made and support charities and the voluntary sector. Sarah Coombes, Shokat Lal, Richard Parker, Kerrie Carmichael, Gurinder Singh Josan CBE MP, Antonia Bance, NCVO, SCVO (Sandwell Council of Voluntary Organisations), Heart of England Community Foundation, Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, Brian Cape, Andy Dawson, NHS England, Saqib Bhatti MBE, JESSICA Phillips, BBC News, John Cotton, Dave Rogers, Douglas Brown, Jayne Holliday, Dr Faye Hingley, Darren Harris, Anu Gibson, Callum Russell, Tina Costello OBE, Toby Porter

Group Life Assurance for Association? Yes indeed! Though we have the compulsory group life assurance for employers who have up to three (3) employees and above on their pay roll according to the Pension reform Act. Group life assurance can also cover Peer groups, Clubs, Families, School mates and all forms of Association. The major cover on the policy is death, during the period of Insurance. The policy can also be extended to cover certain riders, such as: 1. Critical Illness 2. Accidental Permanent Disability 3. Funeral Expenses The policy pays a named beneficiary of a deceased member of the association a lump sum (which is the sum assured) agreed by the association. The usual donations/contributions made by members of association for families of members who passes on is taken care of by this policy. Those eligible to participate on this cover are within the ages of 18 to 70 years. You can reach out for more information and all your Insurance needs. Remember "a stitch in time saves nine" Have a blessed day!

How much does the following statement resonate with VCFSE sector colleauges, who are providing health and wellbeing services?... "Increasing employer contributions to community organisations is "financial madness that is "going to cost the government money. By effectively sending people in need back to public services, back to their GPs, this is going to cost the government money," #charity #socent #socialeconomy #community #health #wellbeing #thirdsector #vcs #vcfse

We've worked out the National Insurance Contribution increase from last week's budget will cost NORFOLK COMMUNITY LAW SERVICE LTD more than £25,000 in 2025/26 alone. That's an eye-watering amount for any organisation and will put even more pressure on our fund-raising team as it seeks to find the cash needed to help more than 4,500 people a year with their legal problems. We understand the current state of government finances and that money needs to be found from somewhere - but the rise is particularly galling given we already step into the space created by government cuts (legal aid reduction in particular) and the funds we do get from the public sector to fund out work are ever harder to secure. In real-terms therefore this feels like another kick in the stomach for the sector and charities like NCLS. Organisations, let's not forget, which provide a whole raft of services previously covered by the state - and often do so more effectively and at a much lower cost. That's why I have today signed up to the letter below calling for a reimbursement of the increase cost... https://lnkd.in/ejaPnDcc

I was wondering if state and private schools would once again be treated differently? It surely adds to the argument that this government is taking a discriminatory approach to Independent schools when they are saying that they will fund the NI contributions of state schools but not independent schools. In the meantime, Independent schools and their families face the imposition of 20% VAT in January, NIC increase, increase to the National Minimum Wage and the loss of charitable relief on business rates (the only charities to whom this will apply). Quite irrespective of the impact of all of this on Independent schools, the increase in the NMW and only partly funded 5.5% salary increase for teachers in the state sector will continue to put extraordinary pressure on the state school budgets. Schools will most likely have to make teachers redundant to meet their financial constraints which will result in further class size increases. The reduction in numbers in the Independent sector means there is next to no chance that the government will be able to raise the money they claim will fund 6500 new teachers (1/3 of a teacher per school). It is all a terrible and tragic mess. Education is sadly going to spiral downwards in this country without a considered review of all that is being done at the moment but I fear this is not a government that will admit they may have got it wrong. Andrew Lewer Elizabeth Ivens Pieter Snepvangers Anna Gross Mieka Smiles Independent School Parent Gregory Stafford Bradley Thomas MP Damian Hinds Laura Trott MBE #education #independentschools #discrimination The Telegraph The Daily Mail News TodayExpress & Star Gillian Duncan

£800,000,000 is a lot of money to a sector that is already under massive strain from rising demand, increasing complexity of needs of our service users, exhaustion of our workforces, donor fatigue, loss of volunteers and staff, and squeezed contracts from local authorities. That is what the ENI rise will cost the third sector next year. We need an exemption to the Employers NI rise for #charities. https://lnkd.in/eXaGTepX

What are your thoughts? How can we collectively navigate this challenge? The increase in employers' National Insurance contributions could devastate the voluntary sector, as highlighted in this BBC article. For charities and social enterprises in Cornwall, this could mean losing vital services or, worse, closure. At Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum, we estimate this change could cost our local sector around £9 million. Many organisations are already stretched thin, and this added pressure risks leaving our communities without critical support. This is a call for funders and policymakers to act, adjusting contracts, increase funding, and ensure the sustainability of our sector. Together, we must raise our voices to protect the lifeline these organisations provide. Read more here: BBC News - National Insurance 'will put voluntary sector on its knees' https://lnkd.in/ebkx86YS #VoluntarySector #Charities #SocialEnterprises #Cornwall #CommunitySupport #Sustainability #Funding #SocialImpact #Inclusion #CornwallVSF

A message from our CEO on why it is important to sign the letter to the chancellor about the impact of increased employer National Insurance Contributions for charities, and encouraging our members to do the same - “Charities across the country are struggling – the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent cost-of-living crisis has hit everyone hard. Our members are highlighting to us on a daily basis the challenges they are facing to meet increased demand for their services, with limited or fewer resources than before. Charities do incredible work – but rising costs are putting them in difficult financial positions to deliver what those who use their services need, and the recent Budget announcement that National Insurance contributions would increase for employers is yet another obstacle for the third sector to navigate. I have signed this open letter to the Chancellor on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, and all the organisations we represent – I strongly believe an exemption should be put in place for charities who serve local, national and international communities. At a time when the sector has less flexibility than ever before, this will hit our members hard. The reality is that some organisations may be forced to make sacrifices elsewhere, in order to foot this bill – and that is something none of us want to see happen. I implore the Chancellor to reconsider her decision and urge her to commit to reimbursing voluntary organisations’ increased employer NICs, as she will do for the public sector.” Katie Docherty, CEO, Chartered Institute of Fundraising Read the full letter from NCVO and ACEVO here: https://bit.ly/3UI78Df

Maybe a different way of thinking about this is to ask the question: where will charities find the extra money to pay for the NI increase? Businesses can pass the cost onto customers via price hikes (they definitely won’t compromise profits) but most charities can’t really do that because their ‘customers’ are by definition, some of the poorest people in society. They could try to pass it on to their funders but in the case of local authorities this will defeat the purpose of the NI hike in the first place which was to increase their revenue! So whichever way you look at it the better solution would have been to exempt non-profits from the proposal.