Session 2012 - 13
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Other Bills before Parliament


 
 

9

 

House of Commons

 
 

Tuesday 16 October 2012

 

Public Bill Committee

 

New Amendments handed in are marked thus Parliamentary Star

 

Parliamentary Star - whiteAmendments which will comply with the required notice period at their next appearance

 

Small Charitable Donations Bill


 

Note

 

The Amendments have been arranged in accordance with the Resolution of the

 

Programming Sub-Committee.

 


 

Resolution of the Programming Sub-Committee

 

That—

 

(1)  

the Committee shall (in addition to its first meeting at 8.55 am on Tuesday 16

 

October) meet—

 

(a)  

at 2.00 pm on Tuesday 16 October;

 

(b)  

at 11.30 am and 2.00 pm on Thursday 18 October;

 

(c)  

at 8.55 am and 2.00 pm on Tuesday 23 October;

 

(d)  

at 11.30 am and 2.00 pm on Thursday 25 October;

 

(e)  

at 8.55 am and 2.00 pm on Tuesday 30 October;

 

(2)  

the Committee shall hear oral evidence on Tuesday 16 October in accordance

 

with the following Table:

 

      TABLE

 

Time

Witness

 
 

Until no later than 10.00 am

The United Synagogue;

 
  

Stewardship;

 
  

The Church of England

 
 

Until no later than 11.00 am

National Council for Voluntary

 
  

Organisations;

 
  

Charity Tax Group;

 
  

Small Charities Coalition

 
 

Until no later than 11.25 am

The Law Society of Scotland

 
 

Until no later than 3.00 pm

Royal National Lifeboat Institution;

 
  

WaveLength;

 
  

National Trust

 
 

Until no later than 4.00 pm

Charities Aid Foundation;

 
  

Charity Finance Group;

 
  

Institute of Fundraising

 
 

Until no later than 4.45 pm

HM Treasury;

 
  

HM Revenue and Customs

 

 
 

Public Bill Committee: 16 October 2012                  

10

 

Small Charitable Donations Bill, continued

 
 

(3)  

proceedings on consideration of the Bill in Committee shall be taken in the

 

following order: Clauses 1 to 3; the Schedule; Clauses 4 to 21; new Clauses;

 

new Schedules; remaining proceedings on the Bill.

 

(4)  

the proceedings shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a

 

conclusion at 8.00 pm on Tuesday 30 October.

 

 


 

Sajid Javid

 

That, subject to the discretion of the Chair, any written evidence received by the

 

Committee shall be reported to the House for publication.

 

Sajid Javid

 

That, at this and any subsequent meeting at which oral evidence is to be heard, the

 

Committee shall sit in private until the witnesses are admitted.

 


 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

16

 

Parliamentary Star    

Clause  1,  page  1,  line  3,  leave out ‘from HMRC’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

To delete the requirement that the scheme can only be run by HMRC.

 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

13

 

Parliamentary Star    

Clause  1,  page  1,  line  5,  leave out paragraph (b).

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

To delete the requirement that charities must be claiming Gift Aid before they can be eligible for

 

a payment under this scheme.


 
 

Public Bill Committee: 16 October 2012                  

11

 

Small Charitable Donations Bill, continued

 
 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

15

 

Parliamentary Star    

Clause  1,  page  1,  line  19,  leave out subsection (4).

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

To remove the requirement for matching standard Gift Aid donations.

 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

14

 

Parliamentary Star    

Clause  1,  page  2,  line  1,  leave out subsection (5).

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

To delete the requirement that charities must be claiming Gift Aid before they can be eligible for

 

a payment under this scheme.

 


 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

18

 

Parliamentary Star    

Clause  2,  page  2,  line  8,  leave out subsection (1).

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

Amendment is designed to probe why charities which haven’t made a successful Gift Aid exemption

 

claim in at least three of the previous seven tax years shouldn’t be eligible for a payment under

 

this Bill. It would also allow a debate on why charities recently started shouldn’t be eligible.

 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

21

 

Parliamentary Star    

Clause  2,  page  2,  line  9,  leave out paragraphs (a) and (b) and insert—

 

‘(a)    

It meets the management condition as defined in paragraph 4 of Schedule

 

6 to the Finance Act 2010;

 

(b)    

It has submitted at least one Annual Return or Annual Update to the

 

Charity Commission.’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

Suggests an alternative criteria to make it easier for smaller charities to be eligible under GASDS.

 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

19

 

Parliamentary Star    

Clause  2,  page  2,  line  12,  leave out subsection (2).

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

Amendment is designed to probe why charities which haven’t made a successful Gift Aid exemption

 

claim in at least three of the previous seven tax years shouldn’t be eligible for a payment under

 

this Bill. It would also allow a debate on why charities recently started shouldn’t be eligible.

 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

22

 

Parliamentary Star    

Clause  2,  page  2,  line  15,  leave out subsection (3).

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

Amendment is designed to probe how strict the scheme should be in excluding charities which have

 

been penalised by HMRC. Would also be designed to probe the anti-fraud measures taken in


 
 

Public Bill Committee: 16 October 2012                  

12

 

Small Charitable Donations Bill, continued

 
 

relation to charities.

 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

20

 

Parliamentary Star    

Clause  2,  page  2,  line  22,  leave out paragraph (a).

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

Amendment is designed to probe why charities which haven’t made a successful Gift Aid exemption

 

claim in at least three of the previous seven tax years shouldn’t be eligible for a payment under

 

this Bill. It would also allow a debate on why charities recently started shouldn’t be eligible.

 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

23

 

Parliamentary Star    

Clause  2,  page  2,  line  25,  leave out paragraph (b).

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

Amendment is designed to probe how strict the scheme should be in excluding charities which have

 

been penalised by the HMRC. Would also be designed to probe the anti-fraud measures taken in

 

relation to charities.

 

Sajid Javid

 

1

 

Parliamentary Star - white    

Clause  2,  page  2,  line  27,  at end insert—

 

‘(c)    

a penalty is not to be regarded as having been imposed if all of the penalty

 

is suspended (or the decision that a penalty is payable is cancelled on

 

appeal); but this does not apply to a suspended penalty that subsequently

 

becomes payable.’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This amendment provides that a suspended penalty is not to be regarded as imposed for the

 

purposes of the rules about the meaning of “eligible charity” unless it subsequently becomes

 

payable.

 


 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

26

 

Parliamentary Star    

Schedule  1,  page  12,  line  9,  after ‘any currency’, insert ‘cheques, text or internet

 

donations’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This would allow donations other than just cash donations to count towards the sum on which

 

charities can claim.

 


 

Sajid Javid

 

2

 

Parliamentary Star - white    

Clause  5,  page  3,  line  30,  leave out subsection (4) and insert—

 

‘(4)    

In the application of section 993 for the purposes of subsection (3)—

 

(a)    

a charity that is a trust is to be treated as if it were a company (and

 

accordingly a person), including in this subsection;


 
 

Public Bill Committee: 16 October 2012                  

13

 

Small Charitable Donations Bill, continued

 
 

(b)    

a charity that is a trust has “control” of another person if the trustees (in

 

their capacity as trustees of the trust) have, or any of them has, control of

 

the person;

 

(c)    

a person (other than a charity regulator) has “control” of a charity that is

 

a trust if—

 

(i)    

the person is a trustee of the charity and some or all of the powers

 

of the trustees of the charity could be exercised by the person

 

acting alone or by the person acting together with any other

 

persons who are trustees of the charity and who are connected

 

with the person,

 

(ii)    

the person, alone or together with other persons, has power to

 

appoint or remove a trustee of the charity, or

 

(iii)    

the person, alone or together with other persons, has any power

 

of approval or direction in relation to the carrying out by the

 

trustees of any of their functions.

 

(4A)    

A charity that is a trust is also to be regarded as connected with another charity

 

that is a trust at a time for the purposes of this section if, at that time, at least half

 

of the trustees of one of the charities are—

 

(a)    

trustees of the other charity,

 

(b)    

persons who are connected with persons who are trustees of the other

 

charity, or

 

(c)    

a combination of both.

 

(4B)    

In determining whether a person is connected with another person for the

 

purposes of subsection (4)(c)(i) or (4A)(b), apply section 993 of the Income Tax

 

Act 2007, with the omission of subsection (3) of that section (and without the

 

modifications in subsection (4) above).’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This amendment changes the rules for determining whether a charity is connected with another

 

charity for the purposes of the Bill. This change is mainly intended to secure that two charitable

 

trusts will not normally be connected merely because they share a single common trustee.

 

Sajid Javid

 

3

 

Parliamentary Star - white    

Clause  5,  page  3,  line  38,  at end insert—

 

‘( )    

The Treasury may by order amend this Act so as to change the circumstances in

 

which a charity is connected with another charity in a tax year for the purposes of

 

the Act.’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This amendment gives the Treasury power by order to amend the meaning of “connected

 

charities” for the purposes of the Bill. Such an order would be made by statutory instrument

 

subject to the draft affirmative procedure in this House (see Clause 16).

 


 

Sajid Javid

 

4

 

Parliamentary Star - white    

Clause  6,  page  4,  line  11,  after ‘year’ insert ‘by group members’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 6.


 
 

Public Bill Committee: 16 October 2012                  

14

 

Small Charitable Donations Bill, continued

 
 

Sajid Javid

 

5

 

Parliamentary Star - white    

Clause  6,  page  4,  line  20,  after ‘year’ insert ‘by group members’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 6.

 

Sajid Javid

 

6

 

Parliamentary Star - white    

Clause  6,  page  4,  line  21,  at end insert—

 

‘( )    

“Group member”, in relation to a charitable activity run by a charity in a

 

community building, means a member of the group of people with whom the

 

charity is carrying out the activity.’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This amendment, and amendments 4 and 5, have the effect that small donations collected in

 

community buildings do not count towards the “community building amount” for the purposes of

 

clause 6 unless they are collected from persons with whom the charity is carrying out the

 

charitable activity.

 


 

Sajid Javid

 

7

 

Parliamentary Star - white    

Clause  7,  page  4,  line  26,  leave out from ‘if’ to ‘(and’ in line 28 and insert ‘, on 6 or

 

more occasions in the tax year—

 

(a)    

it carries out a charitable activity with a group of people in the

 

community building, at least 10 of whom are in the class of people for

 

whose benefit the charitable activity is being carried out,

 

(b)    

the activity is of a kind that the charity makes available to the public or a

 

section of the public, and

 

(c)    

none of the group is required to pay to access the building, or the part of

 

the building, in which the activity is carried out;’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This amendment alters the definition of “running” charitable activities in a community building

 

so that, in particular, the activity must be of a kind made available to the public and none of the

 

group may be required to pay for access to the building or the part of the building.

 

Sajid Javid

 

8

 

Parliamentary Star - white    

Clause  7,  page  4,  line  31,  leave out paragraph (a).

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This amendment, with amendment 7, have the effect that staff of a charity can count towards the

 

group of 10 or more people required for a charity to be “running” charitable activities in a

 

community building, as long as the staff are beneficiaries of the activity.

 

Sajid Javid

 

9

 

Parliamentary Star - white    

Clause  7,  page  4,  line  35,  leave out subsection (3).

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This amendment is consequential on amendment 8.


 
 

Public Bill Committee: 16 October 2012                  

15

 

Small Charitable Donations Bill, continued

 
 

Sajid Javid

 

10

 

Parliamentary Star - white    

Clause  7,  page  4,  leave out line 42 and insert ‘subsection (1)’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This amendment is consequential on amendment 8.

 


 

Sajid Javid

 

11

 

Parliamentary Star - white    

Clause  8,  page  5,  line  9,  leave out from ‘include’ to end of line 10 and insert ‘any

 

parts of a building excluded by subsection (1A) or (1B)’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This amendment, with amendment 12, enables parts of a commercial building to qualify as a

 

community building in certain circumstances. Broadly-speaking, the part must be available for use

 

exclusively by a charity at the relevant time, and its commercial use must not be the sale or supply

 

of goods.

 

Sajid Javid

 

12

 

Parliamentary Star - white    

Clause  8,  page  5,  line  10,  at end insert—

 

‘(1A)    

Any parts of a building that are used wholly or mainly for residential purposes or

 

the sale or supply of goods are excluded.

 

(1B)    

Any parts of a building that are used wholly or mainly for other commercial

 

purposes are excluded, except at any times when—

 

(a)    

a charity is carrying out a charitable activity in those parts, and

 

(b)    

the parts are available for use exclusively by the charity in carrying out

 

the activity.’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 11.

 


 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

17

 

Parliamentary Star    

Clause  11,  page  6,  line  28,  leave out subsection (1).

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

To delete the requirement that the scheme can only be run by HMRC.

 

Mr Gareth Thomas

 

Cathy Jamieson

 

24

 

Parliamentary Star    

Clause  11,  page  6,  line  29,  after ‘HMRC’, insert ‘, the Charity Commission or any

 

other government department.’.

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

Similar to purpose of amendment 15—to explore why only HMRC and not alternative bodies

 

should administer what is a small grants scheme.


 
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Revised 16 October 2012