Charities Bill [HL]

Session 2010 - 12
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Other Bills before Parliament

Charities Bill [HL]

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 3 — Exempt charities and the principal regulator
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The official custodian
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The official custodian for charities
(1)
There continues to be an officer known as the official custodian for charities (in
this Act referred to as “the official custodian”).
(2)
The official custodian’s function is to act as trustee for charities in the cases
5
provided for by this Act.
(3)
The official custodian is such individual as the Commission may from time to
time designate.
(4)
The official custodian’s duties must be performed in accordance with such
general or special directions as may be given by the Commission.
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(5)
Schedule 2 contains provisions relating to the official custodian.
Part 3
Exempt charities and the principal regulator
Exempt charities
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Meaning of “exempt charity” and Sch.3
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(1)
In this Act “exempt charity” means any institution, so far as it is a charity, that
is within Schedule 3.
(2)
Subsection (1) is subject to any other enactment by virtue of which a charity is
an exempt charity.
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Power to amend Sch.3 so as to add or remove exempt charities
20
(1)
The Minister may by order make such amendments of Schedule 3 as the
Minister considers appropriate for securing—
(a)
that (so far as they are charities) institutions of a particular description
become or (as the case may be) cease to be exempt charities, or
(b)
that (so far as it is a charity) a particular institution becomes or (as the
25
case may be) ceases to be an exempt charity.
(2)
An order under subsection (1) may be made only if the Minister is satisfied that
the order is desirable in the interests of ensuring appropriate or effective
regulation of the charities or charity concerned in connection with compliance
by the charity trustees of the charities or charity with their legal obligations in
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exercising control and management of the administration of the charities or
charity.
(3)
The Minister may by order make such amendments or other modifications of
any enactment as the Minister considers appropriate in connection with—
(a)
charities of a particular description becoming, or ceasing to be, exempt
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charities, or
(b)
a particular charity becoming, or ceasing to be, an exempt charity,

as a result of provision made under subsection (1).
(4)
In subsection (3), “enactment” includes—

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 3 — Exempt charities and the principal regulator
11

(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,

and references to enactments include enactments whenever passed or made.
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24
Power to remove defunct institutions from Sch.3
The Minister may by order make such amendments of Schedule 3 as the
Minister considers appropriate for removing from that Schedule an institution
that has ceased to exist.
The principal regulator
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25
Meaning of “the principal regulator”
In this Act “the principal regulator”, in relation to an exempt charity, means
such body or Minister of the Crown as is prescribed as its principal regulator
by regulations made by the Minister.
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General duty of principal regulator in relation to exempt charity
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(1)
This section applies to any body or Minister of the Crown who is the principal
regulator in relation to an exempt charity.
(2)
The body or Minister must do all that the body or Minister reasonably can to
meet the compliance objective in relation to the charity.
(3)
The compliance objective is to promote compliance by the charity trustees with
20
their legal obligations in exercising control and management of the
administration of the charity.
27
Power to make amendments in connection with s.26
(1)
Regulations under section 25 may make such amendments or other
modifications of any enactment as the Minister considers appropriate for the
25
purpose of facilitating, or otherwise in connection with, the discharge by a
principal regulator of the duty under section 26(2).
(2)
In subsection (1), “enactment” includes—
(a)
any provision of subordinate legislation (within the meaning of the
Interpretation Act 1978), and
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(b)
a provision of a Measure of the Church Assembly or of the General
Synod of the Church of England,

and references to enactments include enactments whenever passed or made.
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Commission to consult principal regulator
Before exercising in relation to an exempt charity any specific power
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exercisable by it in relation to the charity, the Commission must consult the
charity’s principal regulator.

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 4 — Registration and names of charities
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Part 4
Registration and names of charities
The register
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The register
(1)
There continues to be a register of charities, to be kept by the Commission in
5
such manner as it thinks fit.
(2)
The register must contain—
(a)
the name of every charity registered in accordance with section 30, and
(b)
such other particulars of, and such other information relating to, every
such charity as the Commission thinks fit.
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(3)
In this Act, except in so far as the context otherwise requires, “the register”
means the register of charities kept under this section and “registered” is to be
read accordingly.
Charities required to be registered
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Charities required to be registered: general
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(1)
Every charity must be registered in the register unless subsection (2) applies to
it.
(2)
The following are not required to be registered—
(a)
an exempt charity (see section 22 and Schedule 3),
(b)
a charity which for the time being—
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(i)
is permanently or temporarily excepted by order of the
Commission, and
(ii)
complies with any conditions of the exception,

and whose gross income does not exceed £100,000,
(c)
a charity which for the time being—
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(i)
is, or is of a description, permanently or temporarily excepted
by regulations made by the Minister, and
(ii)
complies with any conditions of the exception,

and whose gross income does not exceed £100,000, and
(d)
a charity whose gross income does not exceed £5,000.
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(3)
A charity within—
(a)
subsection (2)(b) or (c), or
(b)
subsection (2)(d),

must, if it so requests, be registered in the register.
(4)
In this section any reference to a charity’s gross income is to be read, in relation
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to a particular time—
(a)
as a reference to the charity’s gross income in its financial year
immediately preceding that time, or
(b)
if the Commission so determines, as a reference to the amount which
the Commission estimates to be the likely amount of the charity’s gross
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Charities Bill [HL]
Part 4 — Registration and names of charities
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income in such financial year of the charity as is specified in the
determination.
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Restrictions on extending the range of excepted charities etc.
(1)
No order may be made under section 30(2)(b) so as to except any charity that
was not excepted immediately before 31 January 2009.
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(2)
Subject to subsection (3), no regulations may be made under section 30(2)(c) so
as to except any charity or description of charities that was not excepted
immediately before 31 January 2009.
(3)
Such regulations must be made under section 30(2)(c) as are necessary to
secure that any institution ceasing to be an exempt charity by virtue of an order
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made under section 23 is excepted under section 30(2)(c) (subject to compliance
with any conditions of the exception and the financial limit mentioned in
section 30(2)(c)).
(4)
Subsection (1) does not prevent an order which—
(a)
was in force immediately before 31 January 2009, and
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(b)
has effect (by virtue of paragraph 4 of Schedule 8) as if made under
section 30(2)(b),

from being varied or revoked.
(5)
Subsection (2) does not prevent regulations which—
(a)
were in force immediately before 31 January 2009, and
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(b)
have effect (by virtue of paragraph 4 of Schedule 8) as if made under
section 30(2)(c),

from being varied or revoked.
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Power to alter sums specified in s.30(2)
(1)
The Minister may by order amend—
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(a)
section 30(2)(b) and (c), or
(b)
section 30(2)(d),

by substituting a different sum for the sum for the time being specified there.
(2)
The Minister may only make an order under subsection (1)—
(a)
so far as it amends section 30(2)(b) and (c), if the Minister considers it
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expedient to do so with a view to reducing the scope of the exceptions
provided by section 30(2)(b) and (c);
(b)
so far as it amends section 30(2)(d), if the Minister considers it
expedient to do so—
(i)
in consequence of changes in the value of money, or
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(ii)
with a view to extending the scope of the exception provided by
section 30(2)(d).
(3)
No order may be made by the Minister under subsection (1)(a) unless a copy
of a report under section 73 of the Charities Act 2006 has been laid before
Parliament in accordance with that section.
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Power to repeal provisions relating to excepted charities
The following provisions—

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 4 — Registration and names of charities
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(a)
section 30(2)(b) and (c) and (3)(a),
(b)
section 31,
(c)
section 32(1)(a), (2)(a) and (3), and
(d)
this section,
cease to have effect on such day as the Minister may by order appoint for the
5
purposes of this section.
Removal of charities from register
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Removal of charities from register
(1)
The Commission must remove from the register—
(a)
any institution which it no longer considers is a charity, and
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(b)
any charity which has ceased to exist or does not operate.
(2)
If the removal of an institution under subsection (1)(a) is due to any change in
its trusts, the removal takes effect from the date of the change.
(3)
A charity which is for the time being registered under section 30(3) (voluntary
registration) must be removed from the register if it so requests.
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Registration: duties of trustees and claims and objections
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Duties of trustees in connection with registration
(1)
If a charity required to be registered by virtue of section 30(1) is not registered,
the charity trustees must—
(a)
apply to the Commission for the charity to be registered, and
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(b)
supply the Commission with the required documents and information.
(2)
The required documents and information are—
(a)
copies of the charity’s trusts or (if they are not set out in any extant
document) particulars of them,
(b)
such other documents or information as may be prescribed by
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regulations made by the Minister, and
(c)
such other documents or information as the Commission may require
for the purposes of the application.
(3)
If an institution is for the time being registered, the charity trustees (or the last
charity trustees) must—
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(a)
notify the Commission if the institution ceases to exist, or if there is any
change in its trusts or in the particulars of it entered in the register, and
(b)
so far as appropriate, supply the Commission with particulars of any
such change and copies of any new trusts or alterations of the trusts.
(4)
Nothing in subsection (3) requires a person—
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(a)
to supply the Commission with copies of schemes for the
administration of a charity made otherwise than by the court,
(b)
to notify the Commission of any change made with respect to a
registered charity by such a scheme, or
(c)
if the person refers the Commission to a document or copy already in
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the Commission’s possession, to supply a further copy of the
document.