We know there have been different levels of group activity over the past few months. Those who have been using service providers for online exercise classes, or who have done some online fundraising, etc, are likely to have had financial transactions. But even those groups whose activities are paused may have received donations.

We know that NHS services and therapies can be difficult to access at the best of times. The pandemic has made this even worse, with services (both NHS and private) - including occupational therapy, continence services, support to stay physically active, clinical psychology, physiotherapy, help with diet and speech, and pain management – being reduced, limited or put on hold.

Although lockdown has relaxed over recent weeks, our guidance to local groups has remained that the suspension of all face-to-face services and activities must continue.

We are completely committed to being transparent and open with you and providing opportunities for volunteers to contribute.

It may be difficult for colleagues over the coming weeks if they are part of the consultation. We ask that you are sensitive to that.

So that you can ask questions and share your views throughout the process, we’re running some virtual feedback sessions on Zoom, you can find the details below.

We had to pause some of our plans for our Stop MS Campaign, in both fundraising and research. But we’re now looking to the future and our plans for the autumn.

Supporting world leading MS research remains one of our top priorities as an organisation. We know that we must continue to invest in the future, through research. Because we know that finding treatments to slow the accumulation of disability is what people with MS want and urgently need.

Please see below a copy of the email Nick sent to all volunteers regarding our proposed people changes.

Dear volunteer, 

We started our new strategy at the beginning of 2020 and following a recent review led by our trustees, we are confident it remains right for our future. However, like so many charities, the coronavirus crisis has had a huge financial impact on our organisation. We expect to lose 30% of our income this year – and 15% next year.

We know this is a worrying time for the MS Community, our volunteers and our staff. The coronavirus has had a huge impact on our organisation and, like so many charities, we’ve been hit hard financially. We expect significant income loss this year and next.

We were already planning some changes through our transformation programme, but now we’re having to go further. We’ve started a consultation which will consider restructures and redundancies in two phases. This will include doing some work differently and stopping some of what we do.

We all know about the health and wellbeing benefits of regular exercise. But keeping active can be very challenging for those with MS, and the restrictions of lockdown have only added to this.

The new ‘Moving More at Home’ resources are about removing barriers to exercise and accepting that some days are better than others. Each individual can explore what works for them, even if it’s just within their home, and build it into an enjoyable routine to make the most of their good days.

It's an unfortunate reality that fraudsters are exploiting the coronavirus pandemic and finding new opportunities to access money, information and software. We need to increase our financial controls to ensure we don’t become a victim of fraud, which would damage donor confidence and reduce our ability to support the MS community.

Our Finance Team therefore need you to take the following preventative actions:-

Social media is a fantastic way for us to connect with our community, supporters and members. But its ever-growing popularity also means various types of fraud and scams are on the rise and becoming more sophisticated.

Social media fraud can happen in various ways, including:

• Scammers visiting our social media spaces, engaging with our community and directing them to fraudulent websites where they may ask for bank details and other personal information.

• Our social media accounts being compromised by attack or security breach.