Charities Bill [HL]

Session 2010 - 12
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Other Bills before Parliament

Charities Bill [HL]

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 6 — Cy-près powers and assistance and supervision of charities by court and Commission
29

(a)
a claim is made with the time limit only if it is made no later than 6
months after the date on which the scheme is made, and
(b)
“the scheme’s date” means the date on which the scheme is made.
(6)
Subsection (7) applies if—
(a)
any sum is, in accordance with any directions included in the scheme
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under subsection (4)(c), set aside for meeting claims made in
accordance with subsection (4)(b), but
(b)
the aggregate amount of any such claims actually made exceeds the
relevant amount;

and for this purpose “the relevant amount” means the amount of the sum so set
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aside after deduction of any expenses properly incurred by the charity trustees
in connection with claims relating to the donors’ gifts.
(7)
If the Commission so directs, each of the donors in question is entitled only to
such proportion of the relevant amount as the amount of the donor’s claim
bears to the aggregate amount referred to in subsection (6)(b).
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64
Donors treated as unidentifiable
(1)
For the purposes of section 63 property is conclusively presumed (without any
advertisement or inquiry) to belong to donors who cannot be identified, in so
far as it consists of—
(a)
the proceeds of cash collections made—
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(i)
by means of collecting boxes, or
(ii)
by other means not adapted for distinguishing one gift from
another, or
(b)
the proceeds of any lottery, competition, entertainment, sale or similar
money-raising activity, after allowing for property given to provide
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prizes or articles for sale or otherwise to enable the activity to be
undertaken.
(2)
The court or the Commission may by order direct that property not falling
within subsection (1) is for the purposes of section 63 to be treated (without any
advertisement or inquiry) as belonging to donors who cannot be identified if it
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appears to the court or the Commission—
(a)
that it would be unreasonable, having regard to the amounts likely to
be returned to the donors, to incur expense with a view to returning the
property, or
(b)
that it would be unreasonable, having regard to the nature,
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circumstances and amounts of the gifts, and to the lapse of time since
the gifts were made, for the donors to expect the property to be
returned.
65
Donors treated as disclaiming
(1)
This section applies to property given—
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(a)
for specific charitable purposes, and
(b)
in response to a solicitation within subsection (2).
(2)
A solicitation is within this subsection if—
(a)
it is made for specific charitable purposes, and
(b)
it is accompanied by a statement to the effect that property given in
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response to it will, in the event of those purposes failing, be applicable

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 6 — Cy-près powers and assistance and supervision of charities by court and Commission
30

cy-près as if given for charitable purposes generally, unless the donor
makes a relevant declaration at the time of making the gift.
(3)
A relevant declaration is a declaration in writing by the donor to the effect that,
in the event of the specific charitable purposes failing, the donor wishes to be
given the opportunity by the trustees holding the property to request the
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return of the property in question (or a sum equal to its value at the time of the
making of the gift).
(4)
Subsections (5) and (6) apply if—
(a)
a person has given property as mentioned in subsection (1),
(b)
the specific charitable purposes fail, and
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(c)
the donor has made a relevant declaration.
(5)
The trustees holding the property must take the prescribed steps for the
purpose of—
(a)
informing the donor of the failure of the purposes,
(b)
enquiring whether the donor wishes to request the return of the
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property (or a sum equal to its value), and
(c)
if within the prescribed period the donor makes such a request,
returning the property (or such a sum) to the donor.
(6)
If those trustees have taken all appropriate prescribed steps but—
(a)
they have failed to find the donor, or
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(b)
the donor does not within the prescribed period request the return of
the property (or a sum equal to its value),

section 63(1) applies to the property as if it belonged to a donor within section
63(1)(b) (application of property where donor has disclaimed right to return of
property).
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(7)
If—
(a)
a person has given property as mentioned in subsection (1),
(b)
the specific charitable purposes fail, and
(c)
the donor has not made a relevant declaration,

section 63(1) similarly applies to the property as if it belonged to a donor within
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section 63(1)(b).
(8)
For the purposes of this section—
(a)
“solicitation” means a solicitation made in any manner and however
communicated to the persons to whom it is addressed,
(b)
it is irrelevant whether any consideration is or is to be given in return
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for the property in question, and
(c)
where any appeal consists of—
(i)
solicitations that are accompanied by statements within
subsection (2)(b), and
(ii)
solicitations that are not so accompanied,
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a person giving property as a result of the appeal is to be presumed,
unless the contrary is proved, to have responded to the former
solicitations and not the latter.
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Unknown and disclaiming donors: supplementary
(1)
For the purposes of sections 63 and 65, charitable purposes are to be treated as
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failing if any difficulty in applying property to those purposes makes that

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 6 — Cy-près powers and assistance and supervision of charities by court and Commission
31

property or the part not applicable cy-près available to be returned to the
donors.
(2)
In sections 63 to 65 and this section—
(a)
references to a donor include persons claiming through or under the
original donor, and
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(b)
references to property given include the property for the time being
representing the property originally given or property derived from it.
(3)
Subsection (2) applies except in so far as the context otherwise requires.
(4)
In sections 63 and 65 “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by
the Commission.
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(5)
Any such regulations are to be published by the Commission in such manner
as it thinks fit.
(6)
Any such regulations may, as respects the advertisements which are to be
published for the purposes of section 63(1)(a), make provision as to the form
and content of such advertisements as well as the manner in which they are to
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be published.
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Cy-près schemes
(1)
The power of the court or the Commission to make schemes for the application
of property cy-près must be exercised in accordance with this section.
(2)
Where any property given for charitable purposes is applicable cy-près, the
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court or the Commission may make a scheme providing for the property to be
applied—
(a)
for such charitable purposes, and
(b)
(if the scheme provides for the property to be transferred to another
charity) by or on trust for such other charity,
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as it considers appropriate, having regard to the matters set out in subsection
(3).
(3)
The matters are—
(a)
the spirit of the original gift,
(b)
the desirability of securing that the property is applied for charitable
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purposes which are close to the original purposes, and
(c)
the need for the relevant charity to have purposes which are suitable
and effective in the light of current social and economic circumstances.

The “relevant charity” means the charity by or on behalf of which the property
is to be applied under the scheme.
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(4)
If a scheme provides for the property to be transferred to another charity, the
scheme may impose on the charity trustees of that charity a duty to secure that
the property is applied for purposes which are, so far as is reasonably
practicable, similar in character to the original purposes.
(5)
In this section references to property given include the property for the time
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being representing the property originally given or property derived from it.
(6)
In this section references to the transfer of property to a charity are references
to its transfer—
(a)
to the charity,

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 6 — Cy-près powers and assistance and supervision of charities by court and Commission
32

(b)
to the charity trustees,
(c)
to any trustee for the charity, or
(d)
to a person nominated by the charity trustees to hold it in trust for the
charity,

as the scheme may provide.
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(7)
In this section references to the original purposes of a gift are to be read, where
the application of the property given has been altered or regulated by a scheme
or otherwise, as referring to the purposes for which the property is for the time
being applicable.
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Charities governed by charter, or by or under statute
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(1)
Subsection (2) applies where a Royal charter establishing or regulating a body
corporate is amendable by the grant and acceptance of a further charter.
(2)
A scheme relating to the body corporate or to the administration of property
held by the body (including a scheme for the cy-près application of any such
property)—
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(a)
may be made by the court under the court’s jurisdiction with respect to
charities even though the scheme cannot take effect without the
alteration of the charter, but
(b)
must be so framed that the scheme, or such part of it as cannot take
effect without the alteration of the charter, does not purport to come
20
into operation unless or until Her Majesty thinks fit to amend the
charter in such manner as will permit the scheme or that part of it to
have effect.
(3)
Subsection (4) applies where, under—
(a)
the court’s jurisdiction with respect to charities or the corresponding
25
jurisdiction of a court in Northern Ireland, or
(b)
powers conferred by this Act or by any Northern Ireland legislation
relating to charities,

a scheme is made with respect to a body corporate and it appears to Her
Majesty expedient, having regard to the scheme, to amend any Royal charter
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relating to that body.
(4)
Her Majesty may, on the application of the body corporate, amend the charter
accordingly by Order in Council in any way in which the charter could be
amended by the grant and acceptance of a further charter; and any such Order
in Council may be revoked or varied in the same manner as the charter it
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amends.
(5)
The jurisdiction of the court with respect to charities is not excluded or
restricted in the case of a charity of a description mentioned in Schedule 5 by
the operation of the enactments or instruments there mentioned in relation to
that description.
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(6)
A scheme established for a charity of a description mentioned in Schedule 5—
(a)
may modify or supersede in relation to it the provision made by any
such enactment or instrument as if made by a scheme of the court, and
(b)
may also make any such provision as is authorised by that Schedule.