Becoming a generous friend and wise mentor wasn’t on the job description when Hugh Burnett became the High Sheriff

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 10th April 2024)

I had no idea what to expect when I went to meet the High Sheriff of East Sussex. I didn’t have a clue what a High Sheriff did. I later discovered that the High Sheriff is the Monarch’s judicial representative in the county. They have a ceremonial role in overseeing judges, magistrates and others. It is a non-political role and is appointment by the Monarch for one year and is unpaid.

And so I met Hugh Burnett, that year’s High Sheriff. He was waving off charity walkers who were raising money for advice and legal services in Brighton and Hove. He and I went for a coffee while waiting the walkers’ return, and thus began a friendship that has lasted to this day.

Tessa and Hugh Burnett

Hugh has had an extraordinary life. He was born in Monte Carlo and lived in Marseilles until his family were evacuated back to Britain at the outbreak of war when he was six months old. After the war the family returned to France before he was sent to school in England.  Later he qualified as a chartered accountant but never worked as such, finding a niche in early computing where he worked as a salesman and trainer. He worked for various companies in Brighton including Gross Cash Registers and Cash Bases where he was part of a management buyout. In business he specialised in taking companies with a £2 million turnover and building them to have a £15 million turnover.

He has twice been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the first time as part of Cash Bases and then in a personal capacity. In 2001 he was made an Officer of the British Empire for his services to the community in Newhaven. He was a member of the Newhaven Economic Partnership and was vice chair of Lewes Tertiary College.  After his year as High Sheriff, he became a Deputy Lieutenant for East Sussex where he assisted the Lord Lieutenant and his friend, Sir Peter Field, in his role. It is the duty of the Lord Lieutenant to arrange visits of members of the Royal Family. They also seek to promote and encourage voluntary organisations and charities, and to take an interest in the business and social life of their counties.  Both Peter and Hugh excelled in these duties.

The Hugh Burnett I know is a most generous man, giving his time freely and has shared his wisdom with a number of charities, including BHT Sussex where he was a Trustee for almost a decade. He  became my unofficial mentor and I have many reasons to be grateful for his encouragement and wise counsel.

When he became a BHT Trustee it was in response to an article in The Argus.  I explained to him that there was a process that had to be followed, including an interview. He seemed delighted, saying that he hadn’t had a job interview since 1964! At the interview itself, we were assisted by a friend from London, Brenda, a large Jamaican-born woman with an infectious laugh who was a trainer in equalities. In response to an equalities question, Hugh said that in business “one would be foolish not to appoint the best man for the job.” Hugh and Brenda then the most delightful exchange of views. After Hugh had left, Brenda said that we had to appoint him, saying: “That man doesn’t have an ounce of prejudice in his body.”

Hugh has no time for consultants, saying: “Why pay someone to steal your pocket watch so that they can charge you to tell you the time?”  He also was outspoken on the ever-increasing trend of boards to focus on process rather than on entrepreneurship and outcomes, a view with which I wholeheartedly agree.

They used to say that behind every successful man is a strong woman. In Hugh’s case there is Tessa. When my wife and I first went to their home for dinner, we expected the raconteur Hugh to dominate the evening. But we hadn’t accounted for Tessa who kept us royally entertained while Hugh looked on, adoringly. Tessa herself has served the community as a dedicated charity trustee and a longtime volunteer at Citizen Advice. The last year hasn’t been easy for them but they have been sustained by the love and support of their two daughters and their grandchildren about whom both Hugh and Tessa speak with such joy, love and pride.

So when I met the High Sheriff, I didn’t expect to meet such a generous friend and wise mentor. Hugh Burnett was truly the best man for the job! 

Violence Against Women and Children at Christmas

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 20th December 2023)

Have you ever thought about how many songs make light of and even justify violence against women and their murder. An obvious one is Delilah by Tom Jones which contains the lines: “She stood there laughing, I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more”, killing her because she laughed at him.

Paul McCartney’s song Maxwell’s Silver Hammer is a dainty ditty about a student, Maxwell Edison, who kills his girlfriend and female teacher before killing a police officer. The other Beatles hated the song and, according to Ringo Starr: “The worst session ever was Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. It was the worst track we ever had to record.”

In the song Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town, performed by Kenny Rogers, the paralysed war veteran, out of jealousy, says “And if I could move I’d get my gun and put her in the ground” because Ruby was, supposedly, being unfaithful.

I began thinking about these songs after listening to My Home Town, a song by the popular American satirist from the 1960s, Tom Lehrer. He sang about one of the “plain folks” in his home town: “The guy that took a knife, And monogrammed his wife, Then dropped her in the pond and watched her drown”. He felt able to satirise femicide, yet he self-censored himself regarding “kindly Parson Brown” with the words: “We’re recording tonight so I have to leave this line out” to avoid reference to the equally appalling abuse of children. 

Christmas is just five days away so, why on earth, am I focusing on such a depressing theme? For many of us, Christmas is a time spent with family and friends, for love, and a time for celebration. But this isn’t the case for everyone. For those experiencing domestic abuse, Christmas can be a time filled with dread, uncertainty and danger, often exacerbated by alcohol and drugs. Each year there is a reported spike in domestic violence with an estimated 15,000 children exposed to domestic abuse over the  festive season.

There is evidence that domestic abuse becomes more frequent, more severe and more dangerous during the Christmas period. For victims and survivors, Christmas can be a very difficult and stressful time of year, particularly this year as people struggle with the financial stress caused by the cost-of-living crisis.

Fortunately in Brighton and Hove we have RISE, a service dedicated to protecting women and children. RISE stands for Refuge, Information, Support and Education. It is a Sussex-based feminist, women-led and centred domestic violence and abuse charity that supports people affected by domestic abuse and violence.  Its vision is: ‘Freedom from Abuse and Violence’ and has been working for almost 30 years to end all forms of violence and abuse against women and their families.

RISE has put on a Christmas party for 40 families (100 mothers and children).  This Christmas they are focusing on their housing advocacy service that can be accessed through their website (www.rise.org.uk) or when making a homelessness application at Brighton and Hove City Council.

RISE needs financial support to keep its services going, not just at Christmas but throughout the year. RISE doesn’t receive funding for many of their basic services such as its helpline (01273 622822). While its own helpline will be closed over Christmas, as a member of the Women’s Aid Federation, it is part of a national phone line, 0808 2000 247, or go to their Online Live Chat at womensaid.org.uk 

RISE has had to close  its helpline for professionals, and has also just closed its waiting list for its therapy services for children and adults. The waiting list for these services had reached two years and the focus will now be on clearing this.

On a more positive note, RISE has secured funding from central government through the City Council for its Sanctuary Scheme which it had been funding itself for the past five years. This allows RISE to support women who want to remain in their homes by providing safety items such as video doorbells, cameras, and arson blockers on letterboxes.

Most importantly, if you or someone you know might be in danger, call the police immediately on 999.

Without donations from people like you RISE would not be able to continue its vital crisis support, practical guidance and the emotional care so that women and children affected by domestic abuse can rebuild their lives.  You can find out more about the work of RISE and make a donation through their website.

Labour and the Greens should have known better than to allow Ed Miliband and Caroline Lucas anywhere near Russell Brand

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 27th September 2023)

Many years ago when I was working for BHT Sussex, we were approached by a prominent public figure with the offer of a generous donation. The individual was trying to rehabilitate his reputation following a public scandal and was, apparently, offering public donations to a range of charities. Because of our distaste for his prior actions (which were not illegal) and because of the reputational damage that we felt we would have experienced had the donation been accepted, we declined it even though the money would have been very helpful.

As a result of that and other experiences, I was always wary of going down the celebrity route for fundraising. One never knew what skeletons were in closets and many charities have been damaged by the fall from grace of one of their celebrity supporters. Just think of those charities who unknowingly, in some cases knowingly, worked with serial sex offenders like Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris.

Political parties are equally culpable when aligned with characters whose personal lives and public pronouncements have left much to be desired. The Conservatives shamefully allowed Kenny Everett to make wholly inappropriate ‘jokes’ about bombing Russia and kicking away Michael Foot’s walking stick. Savile was close to Margaret Thatcher and was knighted by her.

In the United States the Clintons and Barack Obama were close to the serial sex offender, Harvey Weinstein. Questions have been asked as to why they were so blind – some suggest wilfully blind – to his true character for so long. Was it his generous support for their election campaigns? Bill Clinton was further damaged by his association with another serial sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew’s reputation, too, is in tatters because of his relationship with Epstein and his inept and ludicrous attempt to justify this friendship.

In the last couple of weeks some politicians must be feeling very uncomfortable about their association with Russell Brand.  Ed Miliband, for example, then leader of the Labour Party, went out of his way to be interviewed by Brand in the run up to the 2015 general election.

Even Caroline Lucas looked delighted in a video on Brand’s social media channel to be endorsed by before the 2015 election.  She looked less comfortable during the preceding interview as Brand invaded her personal space.

By then there were rumours about Brand. A few days after Brand met with Miliband and Lucas, his ex-partner, Jordan Martin, described Brand as a misogynist who had abused her. But even before that, Brand was well-known for his tasteless humour and sexual conduct. For example, in 2008 he made that infamous and totally abusive prank call to Andrew Sachs (Manuel in Fawlty Towers) saying that he had had sex with his granddaughter.  Brand was sacked by the BBC afterwards. 

Both Labour and the Greens should have known better than to allow Ed Miliband and Caroline Lucas anywhere near Brand. I don’t believe for a moment that Caroline would have gone within a hundred miles of Brand had she been aware of these latest allegations, but her party doesn’t have a great reputation when it comes to confronting sexual offenders amongst its ranks. Look at its inaction over Green Party member, David Challenor, who was allowed to act as an election agent, not once but twice, even though the Party knew he had been arrested and charged with kidnapping and sexually abusing a 10-year old. He was subsequently convicted and jailed for 22 years.

Others who should have known better, had promoted Brand over the years, these same years when he had been open in his television and stage ‘acts’ about his abuse and humiliation of women for his personal gratification. In a 2007 radio interview with Savile, Brand said he wanted to meet him and offered to bring along his female assistant, naked. 

But still he was promoted becoming the guest editor of an edition of the New Statesman and, for a number of years, a columnist for The Guardian. George Monbiot, a darling of the British left, nominated Brand as his “hero of the year” in 2014, saying “Brand’s openness about his flaws makes him a good leader, and allows those who admire him to be good followers.”

Maya Angelou said: “When people show you who they are, believe them.” 

One wonders what it is about ‘celebrities’ like Russell Brand that allows principled politicians like Miliband, Lucas and Monbiot to associate themselves with his ilk. While it gives them a momentary boost amongst a certain cohort, it diminishes their politics in the long term. They would have been well-advised to keep their distance and not become “good followers”.

(Note: The final paragraph was omitted from the version that appeared in The Argus)

Shop checkouts, railway ticket offices, post offices and banks: it’s appalling to replace people with machines

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 30th August 2023)

There is an elderly lady who lives near me who gets her hair done once a week. She lives on her own.  Her hairdresser is the only person she has any lengthy conversation with, her regular taxi driver who takes her to the hairdresser the only person who admires her beautifully styled hair.

In Brighton and Hove 44,000 people live alone. One in three is over 65. It is why I have such admiration for organisations like Together Co which believes that “in a city of nearly 300,000, no one should be lonely or socially isolated.” 

It is also why I despise the trend of replacing people by machines. 

My local Sainsbury’s is currently closed for refurbishment.  The refrigeration units are being replaced and the store repainted.  There is a fear that this refurbishment will see a further reduction in the number of staffed checkouts.  In recent years most of the staffed checkouts at this store, and elsewhere, have been replaced by self-service alternatives. The new Co-op in London Road has just one staffed checkout.  Even Marks and Spencer in Western Road has reduced staffed checkouts to the bare minimum.

Staffed checkouts are essential for people with visual impairments, wheelchair users, those (young and old) who are not tech-savvy, and some people who are neurodivergent.  Equally important, the checkout staff might be the only conversation some people have in a day.

Some people now avoid those stores that are replacing people with self-service checkouts.  They mourn the loss of the human touch.  This is a trend that is happening elsewhere, including banks, post offices and railway ticket offices. We are creating a soulless, contactless society where basic human interaction counts for little.

The planned closure of most ticket offices in England is a particular outrage and may well have electoral consequences for the government. What are travellers to do when ticket machines are vandalised or out of order? I don’t know about you but I have made errors at the self-service machines. However, I have been able to go to a staffed ticket office who will correct my mistake. Imagine if you live somewhere like Rye.  In the future, if you make an error, need to amend a ticket or get a refund, you will have to buy an additional ticket to travel to Eastbourne which will be your nearest travel centre. One might conclude that the government and rail operators don’t care about the travelling public! Imagine that.

‘But few people, compared to times gone by, use ticket offices these days’, we are told. They use ticket machines and buy online. That may be so for the many, but what about the few for whom that is not an option? The government does not care for them in this soulless, contactless society.

The Rail Delivery Group (i.e. Network Rail) gave this justification: “These proposals are designed to move staff out of ticket offices and onto station platforms and concourses to support better, face-to-face interactions.” Pull the other one, it has bells on it. Can we really expect there to be members of staff hanging around stations like London Road, Moulsecoomb, and Preston Park, kicking their heals with little to do? They won’t even be allowed to sell tickets. How long will they last before being redeployed or made redundant?

One of our local Conservative MPs, Tim Loughton, said in the House of Commons in response to the government’s decision to close ticket offices: “It’s not going to work, is it?  I queue up at my ticket office every Monday morning. There’s always a queue of people wanting route advice. People with disabilities who can’t use the machine. People wanting refunds.”

Many post office branches have been closed, and one can expect lengthy queues at the few that remain. Even these are under threat with the possibility of many becoming self-service facilities. Bank branches are being closed at a rate. I am being moved to the fifth branch of the bank where I have my current account, and this new branch provides largely self-service facilities. 

What is particularly sad is that for some people contact with the check-out staff, the post office counter staff, or the bank teller, might be the only human contact they have in a week.

For now, at least, hairdressing will retain the human touch. But how long will it be before taxis no longer have drivers and someone to admire my elderly neighbours beautiful hair?

Together Co can be contacted on 01273 775 888 or through its website togetherco.org.uk

Retirement

This week my life changes irreversibly – I am retiring from BHT Sussex, the organisation for which I have worked since 1985.

For the last 20 years I have had the greatest honour of serving the tenants, clients and members of staff of BHT Sussex as their chief executive. I can confidently say that it is the best job in Sussex and one that I have enjoyed almost every day. It has had its high and low points, but overall it has been incredibly rewarding.

BHT Sussex has surely changed my life over the last 37 years

Since I announced my planned retirement in March last year, people have been very kind and generous in their messages to me. Some have referred to the work I have done with homeless people. 

The truth is, at least in an organisation with the range of services delivered by BHT Sussex, a chief executive does little of the actual work for which the charity is known and respected. The work is undertaken by skilled, dedicated and professional staff, supported by operational and senior managers, and led by an executive team and Board with vision and passion. 

At BHT Sussex, working with, not just for, our clients is an important part of our culture, involving them in planning and development, and also in the delivery of services. Decision-making involves clients and tenants. For example, the appointment of my successor, David Chaffey, involved a panel of tenants and clients who had real influence. Had they had doubts about a particular candidate, that person would not have been appointed.

A chief executive’s role is to understand what change is needed, set a direction for the organisation, and motivate those with whom they work.  If they can offer some inspiration, all the better. But the chief executive rarely delivers any direct services themselves.  

My role has been to assist Board members to deepen their understanding of the issues facing the organisation, its tenants, clients and staff, and to help the Board to establish a direction of travel and set some objectives.  The role is largely one of communicator, internally and externally. Any positive reputation that I personally might have acquired from this role is due to being an effective propagandist!

My decision to retire was made much easier when, in late 2021, we were successful in securing our largest-ever contract, supporting 6,000 people in the homes throughout East Sussex.  I have known other chief executives hanging on beyond their ‘Best Before’ date, determined to sort out a particular problem or crisis.  Of course their job will never be done as we are constantly faced with new, often unexpected, challenges. This is as true today as ever before.

Charities are facing unprecedented challenges because of a squeeze on public funding, reductions in public donations, and increasing need.  Each week I hear of another charity in trouble, even closing.

Well-managed charities will have taken action several years ago to manage today’s challenges.  BHT Sussex, for example, rationalised its office accommodation over the last five or six years, saving us significant sums. 

But no matter how good one might have been in ‘horizon scanning’, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the consequential fuel and cost-of-living crises, could not have been forecast, nor could the disastrous financial crisis caused by the ill-fated Truss government.

Like most households, charities are turning down the thermostat, keeping the lights off, and exploring other ways in which money can be saved.  Almost one in five charities have reduced services, while 71% report an increase in demand in the three months to November 2022.

At BHT Sussex we have made some lasting changes that save time and money, such as moving many meetings online, which also has a positive environmental impact.

The Charities Aid Foundation reported that more than half of UK charities are worried that they will not survive the cost-of-living crisis. Smaller charities are often less-equipped to deal with any recession, much less one that follows two years of a pandemic during which time we have all seen our fundraising income reduce.

While organisations like BHT Sussex continue to benefit from some generous supporters, most gifts are for specific services.  In our case, because people are appalled that, in one of the richest cities in one of the richest countries in the world, we have people sleeping on our streets, they give money to support First Base, our centre working with rough sleepers.

Paying for the running costs of an organisation is what is bringing down some charities.  For this reason the future must see smaller charities merging with those of us who can spread our infrastructure costs across many services.

The future for BHT Sussex is positive. I will be watching how it continues to develop and thrive, and I send my very best wishes to everyone involved in this amazing organisation. 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year …? Not for everyone

(This item first appeared in my ‘Brighton and Beyond’ column in the Brighton Argus on 21st December 2022)

My dear old mum died at Christmas sixteen years ago, and I miss her more with every passing year. This year, for the first time in 30 years, our daughter, Clare, won’t be with us on the day itself as she will be spending it with her boyfriend’s family in Manchester. I also miss my brother, Simon, and his family who live in South Africa.

But I am lucky. I will spend Christmas with others who I love and, thanks to FaceTime, will share some of the festivities with Clare and Simon. Our house will be decorated, presents will be exchanged, and we will still over-indulge on good food and, my favourite, a specially made diabetic trifle. I will even watch ‘The King’, a term that still feels strange as ‘The Queen’ has been ever-present for most of our lives.

But not everyone is as lucky as I am.  Christmas is a particularly difficult time for homeless people. They are reminded of all that they have lost, not least home and family. And if they are street homeless, there won’t be decorations, presents under a tree, or festive cheer. There won’t be warmth, comfort and security.

For them, Christmas won’t be ‘the most wonderful time of the year’ as Andy Williams sang. It can be the worst of all times.

Christmas morning for a person sleeping rough will be the same as every other morning – cold, wet, lonely. There aren’t gifts and, like every other day, there isn’t a toilet, shower, clean and dry clothes, kettle, or breakfast in the cupboard. The heating can’t be turned up a notch, and there won’t be the smell of a roast in the oven.

Fortunately, in Brighton there are additional facilities being put in place by the City Council to support homeless people over the winter in addition to services that are run year-round by several charities. The council has opened a winter shelter providing accommodation for 25 people which will remain open until the end of March. When the weather is particularly severe, additional shelter is provided by the council in order to preserve life, and we at BHT Sussex are pleased to provide support in the severe weather shelter.

There are other services that will be open over the Christmas period. First Base Day Centre, run by BHT Sussex, is one of them and will provide hot food and some Christmas cheer. People can take a shower, put on clean and dry clothes, be warm and comfortable, and for a few hours forget the daily indignity of living on the streets.

I am always haunted at this time of the year by the story of the Little Match Girl, by Hans Christian Andersen. She tries to sell matches on a freezing night, but no one stops to buy any. To keep warm she strikes a match and, in the flame, sees a series of visions that provides her with some comfort, including a warm stove, a roast goose and a large Christmas tree. The visions disappear when the match burns out. 

She sees a shooting star which her now dead grandmother had told her symbolised someone on their way to heaven. In the flame of the next match she sees her grandmother, the one person who had always treated her with love. To keep this vision alive for as long as possible, she lights the entire bundle of matches.

When the matches are all gone, she freezes to death and her grandmother carries her soul to heaven. In the morning her frozen, lifeless body is found in the snow.

Please remember that services such as First Base don’t just open over Christmas. We work throughout the year, offering all the facilities that homeless people rely on to sustain life and basic dignity.

Every week we help people to move off the streets and into accommodation, so that they don’t have to face another night, let alone Christmas, without somewhere safe to call home. 

First Base is not alone in Brighton working over the Christmas period. So too are other fantastic organisations including the Clock Tower Sanctuary, Off the Fence, and Sussex Homeless Support. In Worthing there is Turning Tides, in Chichester Stone Pillow, and in Hastings the Seaview Project. None of the better-known national charities do this face-to-face work locally.

You may have already bought all the presents you intend to give, but can I ask that you consider giving one more – a donation to one of those local charities working at Christmas. You can find details on the internet by searching their names.

Christmas is a particularly important time for many homelessness charities. We receive a significant proportion of our annual fundraising at this time of the year. If you can, please be generous. Your support makes all the difference. Happy Christmas.

Charities are set to close in the face of the Cost-of-Living Crisis

(This item first appeared on 7th September 2022 in my ‘Brighton and Beyond’ colum in the Brighton Argus)

At the very time they are needed the most, many charities are facing an uncertain future due to the cost-of-living crisis and the escalating cost of fuel. While many businesses are on a precipice because they have no protection from the energy cap, the same is true for charities.

Care England said last week that while fuel in the social care sector was costing an average of £660 per bed annually this time last year, that figure has risen to £5,166.

Many charities did extraordinary things during Covid, often drawing on reserves, even selling properties, to meet demand. But the cupboard might now be bare at the time their services are needed more than ever.

This week, a coalition of nearly 50 charity umbrella bodies, including the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, said in a letter to Members of Parliament that charities are facing a “second tsunami of need.”

The organisations said the most vulnerable people in society need “immediate financial support” to get them through the crisis, and added: “We are also calling on the government to provide targeted financial support for those charities and voluntary organisations that are on the front line of supporting people through this crisis, and to ensure that charities, voluntary and community organisations are included in any plans to provide support to businesses.”

The letter continued: “When people cannot afford to pay their bills, the consequences go far beyond whether they can keep their lights on at night, and charities and voluntary organisations of all shapes and sizes play an essential role in keeping people afloat in such challenging times.

“But charities and voluntary organisations are facing the same increases in fuel, energy and salary costs as any business, while their income drops as donors have to cancel direct debits and reduce their offers of goods.”

It added that coping with the pandemic and drawing on reserves means that “many charities and voluntary organisations have little or nothing left to see them through this second tsunami of need.”

So what does the future hold for charities? I cannot see how many will be able to continue to provide the critical services to the most vulnerable individuals and communities, and many charities will simply close down. 

Even before Covid, after almost ten years of austerity, many charities were struggling. Some closed down, others looked for a safe haven for their services by merging with others.

An example of this was the coming together of a wonderful charity, Sussex Oakleaf, with the charity that I lead. It was this merger that prompted our name change from Brighton Housing Trust to BHT Sussex given that we now work in parts of West Sussex, the whole of East Sussex and, of course, Brighton and Hove. 

I have huge admiration and respect for those who led Sussex Oakleaf. They made the difficult, even courageous, decision to merge when its medium-term future was in doubt.  By doing so, their beneficiaries have continued to receive the services that they rely on.

The stark reality is that many charities might not survive as stand-alone organisations. The cost and complexity of running an organisation can make their organisations unsustainable. Almost all charities that rely on public donations are seeing some regular donors cancelling their standing orders and direct debits. 

At BHT Sussex we are fortunate that we have been able to build our asset base, achieve efficiencies through mergers, and plan well ahead, taking tough decisions when needed, but safeguarding services. This means that we will be fine in the long term, even though the next couple of years will be extremely tough. Unlike some others, we have options available to us. Our debate is how, not if, we will survive. Taking on smaller, struggling charities is one option.

The savings that are achievable are obvious – you only need one chief executive, one head of finance, of human resources, of training, of IT, one annual audit, one head office, and so on. These are often very costly so the savings can be substantial.

The defining challenge for Prime Minister Truss is how she manages the cost-of-living crisis.  Words designed to appeal to her base in the Conservative Party just won’t work. 

Ms Truss should be shocked that in England there are now more food banks than there are branches of MacDonalds. She must do something extraordinary to help those on the edge of the precipice who are facing financial disaster, be they individual households, businesses or charities. 

For a start, the government could repay the £425 million it owes to the National Lottery Community Fund, 15 years after ‘borrowing’ the cash to help fund the London Olympics. In itself a drop in the ocean, but at least it would be a start.

Why time limits for trustees and directors are short-sighted and counter-productive

There has been a debate for several years about maximum term that someone may serve as a trustee or board member in a charity, housing association or sports club. In housing associations six years is regarded as best practice, although BHT Sussex still allows trustees to serve for nine years.  A sports club I am involved with has a twelve year limit.

I think any time limit is short-sighted and can be counter-productive. If a  board member or trustee is still adding value at the end of their term, to require them to stand down might not be in the best interest of the organisation. On the other hand, someone might be brought onto a board for a certain purpose and after a couple of years they may have achieved what was required of them and they should stand down.

There are, of course, people who join boards or become trustees who don’t make a contribution and should be asked to go at the earliest opportunity. Yet they can stay on for several more years while the member who still add value, who brings wisdom and experience, who might be a positive culture carrier, and who has retained organisational knowledge, has to step aside, to the cost of the organisation.

Private companies rarely have such rules. They were probably introduced into charities and housing associations for good reason, possibly to refresh thinking and to move along people where they have become too comfortable and too familiar with senior officers. But time limits are the wrong solution for such issues.

What is needed is a robust system of appraisals and objectives for trustees and board members. While they are adding value, keep them for as long as possible. If they  fail to make a meaningful contribution, get rid of them. This can be tough and can lead to conflict, but it is far better than taking the easy road that doesn’t benefit the organisation.

Two organisations transformed by dynamic women leaders

A few years ago I was questioning the value of two important trade bodies: the National Housing  Federation (NHF) and the Association of Chief Executive of Voluntary Organisations (Acevo). I thought that both had lost their way, with (male) chief executives who focused almost entirely on the very largest organisations as it cost to smaller and more local organisations.

Kate Henderson

Then, within a few months of each other, there were changes in leadership in both organisations. Kate Henderson became the chief executive of the NHF and Vicky Browning became chief executive of Acevo. Their arrivals transformed both organisations and renewed my confidence in both.

Unlike their predecessors, they focused equally on the smaller and larger organisations amongst their memberships. 

Vicky Browning

Last week Vicky Browning moved on from Acevo. Her successor, Jane Ide, seems to be cut from a similar cloth. In an email to members this morning, Jane paid tribute to Vicky saying: “Vicky has made Acevo an effective membership body. She has done so with a particular blend of pragmatic determination, ego free collaboration, and a wickedly dry sense of humour, and we are going to miss her enormously.“ I couldn’t agree more.

Jane Ide

As Acevo begins a new era under the leadership of Jane, and as I prepare to bow out next January from my role in BHT Sussex and with it my involvement in Acevo and the NHF, can I wish Kate and Jane all the best for the future and thank them, and Vicki, for their leadership and all that they do. Of course they have support from two teams of dynamic staff without whom they could not deliver the leadership of these two organisations in whom I have renewed confidence and enthusiasm.

Volunteering in Brighton and Hove: 4.5 million volunteer hours per year with a value of £37 million

(This article was first published in my ‘Brighton and Beyond’ column in the Brighton Argus on 25th May 2022)

One of the best aspects of Brighton and Hove is the number of people who give their time freely for the benefit of others and their communities. They are an army of people who enrich our lives and whose extraordinary efforts often go unnoticed and unrecognised.

In the year before the pandemic, Community Works (which brings together over 600 charities, community groups and not-for-profit, organisations across the city and beyond in Adur and Worthing) calculated that 51% of adults in the city volunteer their time each year.  This equates to an estimated 4.5 million volunteer hours per year with a value of £37 million.

Next week (1st to 7th June) is National Volunteers Week, a week dedicated to recognising their invaluable contribution and thanking them all for their time, energy, commitment, and skills. It will be one of the themes of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.  I hope it won’t be lost in all the other razzmatazz of this unique occasion.

Last year there were over 600 Volunteers’ Week events across the country, from award ceremonies to tea parties and barbecues. Charities across Sussex will be holding events to thank their volunteers and celebrate the power of volunteering. This year’s festivities include The Big Jubilee Lunch.

Volunteers play such an important role in a host of areas, from cleaning up parks and the beach, being school governors, to working in charity shops, as well as running amenity groups, community organisations, political parties, and sports clubs.

The city council often portrays itself as running the city. Of course it does so much, delivering many great and some not-so-fantastic services. But without volunteers, the city would very quickly grind to a halt and Brighton and Hove would not be, as it is said, “a great place to live, work and play”.

Park Run, for example, arranges free, weekly, community events for thousands of people including Saturday morning 5km runs in several Brighton parks and open spaces. On Sunday mornings there are 2k junior park runs for children aged four to 14. All this is possible only because of an army of volunteers who make sure that these events are well-organised and safe.

The wonderful Brighton Table Tennis Club has 70 volunteers ensuring that players of all ages and abilities can participate in this sport while at the same time the club brings about social change, challenging exclusion, disability discrimination and poverty. 

Volunteers are people of all ages. For example, the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal has Child Ambassadors who promote our work, like 9-year-old River Isaac who, with three school friends, spoke to 500 fellow school children about the campaign for a statue for the suffragette, Mary Clarke.

At BHT Sussex, the organisation and, more importantly, our clients and tenants, benefit from the contribution of well over 100  volunteers each year including former clients of our Addiction Services, now abstinent and in sustained recovery, who return to the service to support and inspire new residents. 

Volunteers from the Brighton Choir With No Name

We have a wonderful team of volunteers who support the work of the Brighton Choir With No Name which we run in partnership with the national charity of that name. They cook, support and sing alongside Choir members.

Volunteers add huge value to the work of many organisation, but might not be noticed, valued or appreciated by those who award contracts. Often, when organisations from out of the area win contracts for services, community assets can be lost, including long-standing volunteers, their contribution not appreciated by those whose focus can be on price.

Amongst the most hard-working volunteers in any charity are the Trustees. At BHT Sussex, in common with almost all charities and community groups, our Board of Trustees are all volunteers. For the Chair of Trustees, this can come with onerous responsibilities and must feel a bit like a full-time, unpaid job.  At BHT Sussex, our Chair, Kelvin MacDonald, now has the added responsibility of leading the process of choosing my successor.

The chief executive of Community Works, Jess Sumner, has said: “Volunteers’ Week 2022 is a time to say thanks. Volunteers have played a vital role in the pandemic response and have been the lifeblood of our communities during an exceptionally difficult couple of years. 

“The coronavirus pandemic has rightly raised the profile of volunteering and more people than ever are aware of the immense contribution being made by volunteers throughout the UK.

“Volunteers’ Week is a time to recognise the invaluable impact volunteering has on the community. 

“People from all walks of life have stepped up and spent thousands of hours helping our community continue during these difficult times, from the small scale, mutual-aid groups offering much-needed local support, to the thousands of existing voluntary and community groups, and the national organisations and programmes.”