House of Commons Amendments

Session 2012 - 13
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

9

House of Commons

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Public Bill Committee

New Amendments handed in are marked thus

Amendments 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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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.



© Parliamentary copyright	Revised 16 October 2012