Minister for civil society Nick Hurd has confirmed the Big Society Bank will be a wholesaler which will work within and support organisations  already providing finance to the voluntary sector.

VAT rates will not be frozen for charities' non-business activities following the parliamentary review of amendments to the Finance Bill yesterday.

The Conservative Party met with various trusts and foundations early last year to ask whether, in light of the Budget deficit, they would be willing to help fund the early years of its prisoner reoffending policy until the savings started to materialise.

After a decade in the post, Institute of Fundraising chief executive Lindsay Boswell will leave the organisation to take up a new chief executive role at a charity.

The Shaw Trust is still waiting for confirmation from the coalition government that it will honour the 16 Work Choice contracts awarded to it by the Department of Work and Pensions just before the election.

The government has advised water companies to pass the cost of subsidising community groups' water drainage charges on to all of their other customers, including low-income households.

HMRC has admitted that it got its initial guidance on the Fit and Proper Persons Test wrong, but sector representatives remain concerned despite the release of an amended document last week.

The Fundraising Standards Board has shaken off sector speculation that it could be vulnerable to government cuts, with chief executive Alistair McLean saying that total self-sufficiency is within reach.

The Defamation Bill should allow a charity to bring a defamation case, if it can prove it has suffered serious reputational damage, as well as substantial financial damage, according to Baroness Young of Hornsey.

The Charity Tax Group is advocating that the best way to make progress on gift aid would be to move from the current paper-based system to a standard electronic database provided by HMRC to each charity.

Andrew Hind, chief executive of the Charity Commission, has written to the Daily Telegraph, complaining that its coverage of public benefit and schools is misleading.

NCVO and Compact Voice have launched a scheme in which voluntary sector staff swap jobs with central government staff for a day.

Communitybuilders and the Social Enterprise Investment Fund are under review by the government.

The Charities Security Forum has proceeded with plans for a mentoring scheme to enhance knowledge and practice across the non-profit sector, particularly at the smaller end.

Minister for civil society Nick Hurd told a gathering of sector people last week that the newly-knighted Sir Stuart Etherington has ordered a new pair of braces depicting knights in shining armour.