Charities Bill [HL]

Session 2010 - 12
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Other Bills before Parliament

Charities Bill [HL]

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 1 — Meaning of “charity” and “charitable purpose”
Chapter 1 — General
1

A
Bill
[AS AMENDED BY THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON CONSOLIDATION BILLS]
To
Consolidate the Charities Act 1993 and other enactments which relate to
charities.
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part 1
Meaning of “charity” and “charitable purpose”
Chapter 1
General
Charity
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1
Meaning of “charity”
(1)
For the purposes of the law of England and Wales, “charity” means an
institution which—
(a)
is established for charitable purposes only, and
(b)
falls to be subject to the control of the High Court in the exercise of its
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jurisdiction with respect to charities.
(2)
The definition of “charity” in subsection (1) does not apply for the purposes of
an enactment if a different definition of that term applies for those purposes by
virtue of that or any other enactment.

HL Bill 80
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Charities Bill [HL]
Part 1 — Meaning of “charity” and “charitable purpose”
Chapter 1 — General
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Charitable purpose
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Meaning of “charitable purpose”
(1)
For the purposes of the law of England and Wales, a charitable purpose is a
purpose which—
(a)
falls within section 3(1), and
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(b)
is for the public benefit (see section 4).
(2)
Any reference in any enactment or document (in whatever terms)—
(a)
to charitable purposes, or
(b)
to institutions having purposes that are charitable under the law
relating to charities in England and Wales,
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is to be read in accordance with subsection (1).
(3)
Subsection (2) does not apply where the context otherwise requires.
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Descriptions of purposes
(1)
A purpose falls within this subsection if it falls within any of the following
descriptions of purposes—
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(a)
the prevention or relief of poverty;
(b)
the advancement of education;
(c)
the advancement of religion;
(d)
the advancement of health or the saving of lives;
(e)
the advancement of citizenship or community development;
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(f)
the advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science;
(g)
the advancement of amateur sport;
(h)
the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation
or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and
diversity;
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(i)
the advancement of environmental protection or improvement;
(j)
the relief of those in need because of youth, age, ill-health, disability,
financial hardship or other disadvantage;
(k)
the advancement of animal welfare;
(l)
the promotion of the efficiency of the armed forces of the Crown or of
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the efficiency of the police, fire and rescue services or ambulance
services;
(m)
any other purposes—
(i)
that are not within paragraphs (a) to (l) but are recognised as
charitable purposes by virtue of section 5 (recreational and
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similar trusts, etc.) or under the old law,
(ii)
that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to, or within the
spirit of, any purposes falling within any of paragraphs (a) to (l)
or sub-paragraph (i), or
(iii)
that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to, or within the
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spirit of, any purposes which have been recognised, under the
law relating to charities in England and Wales, as falling within
sub-paragraph (ii) or this sub-paragraph.
(2)
In subsection (1)—
(a)
in paragraph (c), “religion” includes—
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Charities Bill [HL]
Part 1 — Meaning of “charity” and “charitable purpose”
Chapter 1 — General
3

(i)
a religion which involves belief in more than one god, and
(ii)
a religion which does not involve belief in a god,
(b)
in paragraph (d), “the advancement of health” includes the prevention
or relief of sickness, disease or human suffering,
(c)
paragraph (e) includes—
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(i)
rural or urban regeneration, and
(ii)
the promotion of civic responsibility, volunteering, the
voluntary sector or the effectiveness or efficiency of charities,
(d)
in paragraph (g), “sport” means sports or games which promote health
by involving physical or mental skill or exertion,
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(e)
paragraph (j) includes relief given by the provision of accommodation
or care to the persons mentioned in that paragraph, and
(f)
in paragraph (l), “fire and rescue services” means services provided by
fire and rescue authorities under Part 2 of the Fire and Rescue Services
Act 2004.
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(3)
Where any of the terms used in any of paragraphs (a) to (l) of subsection (1), or
in subsection (2), has a particular meaning under the law relating to charities
in England and Wales, the term is to be taken as having the same meaning
where it appears in that provision.
(4)
In subsection (1)(m)(i), “the old law” means the law relating to charities in
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England and Wales as in force immediately before 1 April 2008.
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The public benefit requirement
(1)
In this Act “the public benefit requirement” means the requirement in section
2(1)(b) that a purpose falling within section 3(1) must be for the public benefit
if it is to be a charitable purpose.
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(2)
In determining whether the public benefit requirement is satisfied in relation
to any purpose falling within section 3(1), it is not to be presumed that a
purpose of a particular description is for the public benefit.
(3)
In this Chapter any reference to the public benefit is a reference to the public
benefit as that term is understood for the purposes of the law relating to
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charities in England and Wales.
(4)
Subsection (3) is subject to subsection (2).
Recreational trusts and registered sports clubs
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Recreational and similar trusts, etc.
(1)
It is charitable (and is to be treated as always having been charitable) to
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provide, or assist in the provision of, facilities for—
(a)
recreation, or
(b)
other leisure-time occupation,

if the facilities are provided in the interests of social welfare.
(2)
The requirement that the facilities are provided in the interests of social welfare
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cannot be satisfied if the basic conditions are not met.
(3)
The basic conditions are—

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 1 — Meaning of “charity” and “charitable purpose”
Chapter 1 — General
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(a)
that the facilities are provided with the object of improving the
conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities are primarily
intended, and
(b)
that—
(i)
those persons have need of the facilities because of their youth,
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age, infirmity or disability, poverty, or social and economic
circumstances, or
(ii)
the facilities are to be available to members of the public at large
or to male, or to female, members of the public at large.
(4)
Subsection (1) applies in particular to—
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(a)
the provision of facilities at village halls, community centres and
women’s institutes, and
(b)
the provision and maintenance of grounds and buildings to be used for
purposes of recreation or leisure-time occupation,

and extends to the provision of facilities for those purposes by the organising
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of any activity.

But this is subject to the requirement that the facilities are provided in the
interests of social welfare.
(5)
Nothing in this section is to be treated as derogating from the public benefit
requirement.
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Registered sports clubs
(1)
A registered sports club established for charitable purposes is to be treated as
not being so established, and accordingly cannot be a charity.
(2)
In subsection (1), “registered sports club” means a registered club within the
meaning of Chapter 9 of Part 13 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 (community
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amateur sports clubs).
Supplementary
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Application of this Chapter in relation to Scotland
(1)
This Chapter affects the law of Scotland only in so far as it affects the
construction of references to—
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(a)
charities, or
(b)
charitable purposes,

in enactments which relate to matters falling within Section A1 of Part 2 of
Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998 (reserved matters: fiscal policy etc.).
(2)
In so far as this Chapter affects the law of Scotland—
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(a)
references in sections 1(1) and 2(1) to the law of England and Wales are
to be read as references to the law of Scotland, and
(b)
the reference in section 1(1) to the High Court is to be read as a reference
to the Court of Session.
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Application of this Chapter in relation to Northern Ireland
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(1)
This Chapter affects the law of Northern Ireland only in so far as it affects the
construction of references to—

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 1 — Meaning of “charity” and “charitable purpose”
Chapter 2 — Special provision for this Act
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(a)
charities, or
(b)
charitable purposes,

in enactments which relate to matters falling within paragraph 9 of Schedule 2
to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (excepted matters: taxes and duties).
(2)
In so far as this Chapter affects the law of Northern Ireland—
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(a)
references in sections 1(1) and 2(1) to the law of England and Wales are
to be read as references to the law of Northern Ireland, and
(b)
the reference in section 1(1) to the High Court is to be read as a reference
to the High Court in Northern Ireland.
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Interpretation
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(1)
In this Chapter “enactment” includes—
(a)
any provision of subordinate legislation (within the meaning of the
Interpretation Act 1978), and
(b)
a provision of a Measure of the Church Assembly or of the General
Synod of the Church of England,
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and references to enactments include enactments whenever passed or made.
(2)
In section 2(2) the reference to a document includes a document whenever
made.
(3)
In this Act “institution” means an institution whether incorporated or not, and
includes a trust or undertaking.
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(4)
Subsections (1) to (3) apply except where the context otherwise requires.
Chapter 2
Special provision for this Act
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Ecclesiastical corporations etc. not charities in certain contexts
(1)
In the rest of this Act, “charity”, except in so far as the context otherwise
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requires, has the meaning given by section 1(1).
(2)
But in the rest of this Act (apart from Chapter 3 of Part 17) “charity” is not
applicable to—
(a)
any ecclesiastical corporation in respect of the corporate property of the
corporation, except a corporation aggregate having some purposes
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which are not ecclesiastical in respect of its corporate property held for
those purposes,
(b)
any Diocesan Board of Finance, or any subsidiary of such a Board, in
respect of the diocesan glebe land of the diocese, or
(c)
any trust of property for purposes for which the property has been
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consecrated.
(3)
“Ecclesiastical corporation” means any corporation in the Church of England,
whether sole or aggregate, which is established for spiritual purposes.
(4)
“Diocesan Board of Finance”, “subsidiary” and “diocesan glebe land” have the
same meaning as in the Endowments and Glebe Measure 1976.
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