Caritas Anchor House grabbed the headlines last year when, after an epic struggle with HMRC, it forced the taxman to give up its quest to force a more than £1 million bill on the VAT-exempt charity. “I didn’t think the word ‘hostel’ made our residents feel at home,” CEO Keith Fernett explains, “so I took it off the website.” HMRC officials decided, contrary to all advice up to that point, that this meant the charity had changed its purpose. A vigorous campaign ensured the decision was overturned, but the cost of the case still meant a substantial loss of income for the charity, based in Canning Town, in the London borough of Newham.