Articles
Charity Law Update
The Charities Bill is progressing through Parliament and is expected to become law this year.
Key proposals include:
- Clarifying the legal definition of a charity so an organisation which wishes to be classed as a charity must have a purpose which is legally recognisable as charitable and must demonstrate that it exists to provide a public benefit.
- Introducing a new list of heads of charity to replace the existing 4, the new heads being: the prevention or relief of poverty; the advancement of education; the advancement of religion (including non-deity and multi-deity beliefs); the advancement of health or the saving of lives; the advancement of citizenship or community development; the advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science, the advancement of amateur sport; the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity; the advancement of environmental protection or improvement; the relief of those in need, by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage; the advancement of animal welfare; the promotion of the efficiency of the armed forces of the Crown; other purposes currently recognisable as charitable and any new charitable purposes which are similar to another charitable purpose.
- Removing the presumption of public benefit for the poverty, religion and education heads with all organisations having to show that they exist to benefit the public in some way.
- Establishing the Charities Commission as a corporate body and identifying its objectives, functions, general duties, powers and reporting requirements.
- Creating a new independent Charity Appeal Tribunal in which decisions of the Charities Commission may be appealed or reviewed, with power to decide on costs awards.
- Changing charity registration requirements for small, excepted and exempt charities and industrial and provident societies.
- Introducing certain deregulation measures and new accounting and auditing provisions.
- Allowing organisations which register as charities to become incorporated without also having to register as a company by becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
- Introducing new provisions for trustees, including payment for professional services above usual duties (not under contract of employment) and the Charity Commission to have power to remove liability of trustees where they have acted reasonably and in good faith.
- Introducing new provisions relating to professional or commercial fundraisers in order to promote public confidence.
For further information please contact Julian Goulding.