Botton, North Yorkshire
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Botton is a small village within the North York Moors National Park in North Yorkshire, England which is mainly a Camphill Community for people with learning disabilities.[1]
The origins of Botton Village[edit]
Founded in 1955 Botton Village was the first Camphill centre to offer supported living opportunities to adults with learning disabilities and other complex needs.
Botton Village currently supports 60 people in their supported living services. There are 48 properties in total at Botton Village which include a mix of shared supported living households. There are organic social farms located around the village. The community works together on these farms, each person contributing according to his or her ability.
In the village there are many different workshops where the community members make products which are sold to the public via a number of outlets. There is a Botton Village Store which is made up of four concepts: a gift shop, a farm shop, a convenience food store, and a village grocery store. You can purchase items made by the community members from the workshops and items from outer rim suppliers.
Botton village received the Deputy Prime Minister's Award for Sustainable Communities in 2005; the award cited the community's dedication to the ethos of sustainability and mutual respect, as well as their concrete achievements in these areas.[2] Also in 2005, the village featured in a Channel 4 documentary entitled Botton, the strangest village in Britain.[3]
Current disputes[edit]
Some members of the local and surrounding community have been in dispute with the charity that runs the village, the Camphill Village Trust (CVT), taking their case to the High Court.[4] However, following mediation at the beginning of July 2015, both sides are working to find a positive way forward for the community. They will return to review progress with the mediator early in 2016. The dispute centred on whether the historic model of volunteer co-workers receiving financial and other benefits from the charity, instead of a salary, in return for living and working in Botton, was acceptable to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Action for Botton[edit]
Action for Botton – the group campaigning with Botton co-workers for the retention of the voluntary co-worker model – believes that, in introducing paid employment for co-worker's services, the charity is acting against its own founding principles. They highlight many other Camphill Communities that continue to operate the co-worker model. Action for Botton also have letters stating that HMRC do not require volunteer co-workers to be employed[5] Financial Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke writes: "I would like to make it clear that that there has been no recent change in legislation, nor change in rules by HMRC, which affect the tax status of volunteer workers. It appears that changes being introduced by the CVT are as a result of independent advice received by the Trust, and not as a result of any direct or indirect action by HMRC."
However, a letter from HMRC to the CVT, dated 1 December 2014 and published on the Trust's Facebook page[6] indicates otherwise, stating that "HMRC has now provided its Status Opinion in relation to the co-workers within the CVT which is that in our view those co-workers will be employees with effect from 6 April 2015. Consequently our view is that it is now incumbent on the Trustees and Directors of the CVT to take appropriate action mindful of their respectful fiduciary duties."
Action for Botton's main concern was that the move to paid employment would prevent co-workers from continuing to share their homes with learning disabled people in the way they had since Botton was established. During the mediation process, the Trust reaffirmed its commitment to shared living and co-working, within a mixed portfolio of living and care options available to the people it supports.
References[edit]
- ^ "Botton Village". The Camphill Village Trust. Archived from the original on 4 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ "The Deputy Prime Minister's Award." Learning Disability Practice 9.2 (March 2006): 26(1)
- ^ The Strangest Village in Britain Channel4.com
- ^ "Action for Botton - Homepage". www.actionforbotton.org. 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ "HM Treasury letter" (PDF). actionforbotton.org. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ "Camphill Village Trust". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
External links[edit]
