Future of SHiP

1. x Future of SHiP

2. Company status How SHiP works and its structure-ideas for the future

3. How is it run Executive Committee-like a Management Committee • meets ?? • Members chosen how? • What does it do? SHiP General Meeting • Who attends? • Meets two monthly? • What does it cover? Managing Agencies sub group • Meets quarterly • Who Attends? • What does it cover

4. Flip Chart

5. What is the role of SHiP-its raison d’etre ????? What is our focus • Housing Management • Agency services • Support? • Development? What is our role? • Sharing best practice • Policy making/shaping? • Lobbying? • Consultation/advising

6. Meeting structure Is the meeting structure right?  • SHiP General-who goes • Agency sub-who goes? • Exec-who’s on it? • How can we focus the meetings on what people want? • What subjects should we look at?

7. What is your role? • Do you share information with other members of your organisation? • Would you be happy to play a bigger role? • Could we share the tasks more evenly • Do we ask enough?

8. SHiP’s Company Status • An Unincorporated Body • A Membership Organisation

9. x Should it be some form of legal entity

10. Why Risk: greatest risk is to the Executive Committee members: • Holding money • Making decisions • Carrying personal risk • Rogue element • Losses could ultimately fall to members

11. Why not? Its a low risk • Most activities might fall under their employers remit • Decisions made prudently unlikely to be negligent • Liability would only fall to individuals if a claim exceeded SHiP’s assets • Not entering any contracts

12. x Options that are expressly designed for voluntary organisations or organisations with a social purpose • Company Limited by Guarantee • Industrial and Provident Society • Social Enterprise (2 options)

13. Company Limited by Guarantee • Useful model for non-profit organisations that require corporate status. • It has members rather than shareholders. • Profits are retained to be used for the purposes of the company- not distributed to its members. • Each Committee member's liability is limited to a nominal sum- usually £1 - which he or she guarantees to pay if the company has debts on winding up • This type of company is common in England • Suitable for voluntary, charitable, social enterprise or community organisations, with a reasonable turnover, that may want to enter contracts, employ staff, own or occupy premises and to limit the personal liability of management committee members

14. Company Limited by Guarantee • Advantages: • Provides a clear legal identity • Limits liability of the Trustees • Fast-there are the fewest ‘hoops’ and companies exist that can do this for you • A democratic structure • The funds are used for the continued benefit of the organisation: members cannot take profits • A CLG can also register as a charity • Enables you to enter contracts on behalf of the company • Disadvantages • There are no significant disadvantages to this model except there are possibly more appropriate models, designed for the voluntary and community sector • Regulation:-Requires returns to be filed annually. You must keep proper accounting records • Fees-for registration/ establishing the company and annual fees as with the other options • Directors are named at Companies House and hence available for public scrutiny

15. Industrial and Provident Society • An IPS is a ‘legal entity for a voluntary organisation or a trading business’ • Registered with the Financial Services Authority (FSA). • IPS enjoy limited liability in the same way as companies registered under the Companies Acts • To register it must satisfy one of two conditions within the I&P Act 1965 • The Society is a bona fide co-operative • A Society for the benefit of the community • Societies run for the benefit of the community provide services for people other than their members - you must demonstrate reasons why the society should not just be ordinarily registered as a company. • Each member holds a ‘share’. Profits are retained for the benefit of the ‘purpose’ and are the ‘common property’ of the members

16. Industrial and Provident Society Advantages • IPS are considered a more flexible structure • It is a familiar status within our sector • It is relevant to the work we do • Limited liability for Directors • Will also be able to apply for charitable status if that were required Disadvantages • The disadvantages are minimal and those that exist are the same as all the other options i.e. • Regulation will be needed in the form return of accounts/audit and an annual report • Registration requires a set up fee plus legal costs to help set up the entity)

17. Social Enterprise Social enterprises are commercially run, profit making organisations, driven by social aims and the profits reinvested. ‘A business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested in the business or in the community rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for members or shareholders’ There are two types of Social Enterprise: • a) Community Benefit Society (BenComs) • b) Community Interest Group. The prevailing view is that the work of the SHiP group would meet the criteria’; however this is not yet ‘tested’ with solicitors.

18. Ben Com • Community Benefit Societies (BenComs) are industrial and provident societies (IPS) that conduct business for the benefit of their community (as opposed to just their members). Community Benefit Societies are regulated by the FSA. • To register as a BenCom, you must demonstrate your social objectives and your reasons for registering as a society, rather than a company. • Profits are not distributed among members, or external shareholders, but returned to the ‘community’.

19. Ben Com • Advantages • Fashionable model-up to the minute • IPS-a familiar structure • Specifically designed for companies with social objectives • Limited liability • ‘Profits’ remain with the community-not with the members • Disadvantages/points to consider • You must demonstrate your social objectives and your reasons for registering as a society, rather than a company • Cost to register with the FSA is between £40 and £950 and is payable each year, depending on your assets and the type of rules • Regulation as above - annual returns/ accounts/ AGM etc

20. Community Interest Company (CIC) • This model was designed to make setting up community organisations easier / more flexible. • Company limited by share or a company limited by guarantee • A CIC must have some ‘community benefit’ and must pass the ‘community interest test to register. The ‘community benefit’ could be the work of the company itself or it could be that the funds raised by that activity are used to the ‘community benefit’. • If the work and the benefit of the organisation only benefitted its own members then it would not pass the ‘community benefit’ test. SHiP would need to demonstrate that its work benefits more than just the membership organisations

21. Community Interest Company (CIC) Advantages • Fashionable model-up to the minute • Familiar Company type (CLG) • Specifically designed for companies with social objectives • Limited liability for Directors Disadvantages • Must pass the ‘community test’ • Cannot have charitable status • You must submit annual accounts and an annual community interest company report for public record demonstrating its pre-specified community interest • There are costs to register and annual fees • A CIC must not be too deeply involved in any form of political activity

22. x Wendy GreenSupported Housing Consultantwendypgreen@aol.com07808 733671/01825 713956