Charities Bill [HL]

House of Commons

Session 2005 - 06
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Other Bills before Parliament

Charities Bill [HL]

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 3 — Funding for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institutions
Chapter 1 — Public charitable collections
57

prescribed period falling before the day (or the first of the days) on
which the collection takes place,

unless, within the prescribed period beginning with the date when they are so
notified, the local authority serve a notice under subsection (4) on the
promoters.
5
(2)
A public charitable collection is a local, short term collection if—
(a)
the appeal is local in character; and
(b)
the duration of the appeal does not exceed the prescribed period of
time.
(3)
The matters referred to in subsection (1)(b) are—
10
(a)
the purpose for which the proceeds of the appeal are to be applied;
(b)
the date or dates on which the collection is to be conducted;
(c)
the place at which, or the locality within which, the collection is to be
conducted; and
(d)
such other matters as may be prescribed.
15
(4)
Where it appears to the local authority—
(a)
that the collection is not a local, short-term collection, or
(b)
that the promoters or any of them have or has on any occasion—
(i)
breached any provision of regulations made under section 63,
or
20
(ii)
been convicted of an offence within section 53(2)(a)(i) to (v),

they must serve on the promoters written notice of their decision to that effect
and the reasons for their decision.
(5)
That notice must also state the right of appeal conferred by section 62(1) and
the time within which such an appeal must be brought.
25
(6)
Where—
(a)
a collection in a public place is conducted otherwise than in accordance
with section 48(1) or a door to door collection is conducted otherwise
than in accordance with section 49(1), and
(b)
the collection is a local, short term collection but the promoters do not
30
notify the local authority as mentioned in subsection (1)(b),

every promoter of the collection is guilty of an offence and liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
Public collections certificates
51
Applications for certificates
35
(1)
A person or persons proposing to promote public charitable collections (other
than exempt collections) may apply to the Charity Commission for a public
collections certificate in respect of those collections.
(2)
The application must be made—
(a)
within the specified period falling before the first of the collections is to
40
commence, or
(b)
before such later date as the Commission may allow in the case of that
application.
(3)
The application must—

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 3 — Funding for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institutions
Chapter 1 — Public charitable collections
58

(a)
be made in such form as may be specified,
(b)
specify the period for which the certificate is sought (which must be no
more than 5 years), and
(c)
contain such other information as may be specified.
(4)
An application under this section may be made for a public collections
5
certificate in respect of a single collection; and the references in this Chapter, in
the context of such certificates, to public charitable collections are to be read
accordingly.
(5)
In subsections (2) and (3) “specified” means specified in regulations made by
the Commission after consulting such persons or bodies of persons as it
10
considers appropriate.
(6)
Regulations under subsection (5)—
(a)
must be published in such manner as the Commission considers
appropriate,
(b)
may make different provision for different cases or descriptions of case,
15
and
(c)
may make such incidental, supplementary, consequential or
transitional provision as the Commission considers appropriate.
(7)
In this section “exempt collection” means a public charitable collection which
is an exempt collection by virtue of section 50.
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52
Determination of applications and issue of certificates
(1)
On receiving an application for a public collections certificate made in
accordance with section 51, the Commission may make such inquiries
(whether under section 54 or otherwise) as it thinks fit.
(2)
The Commission must, after making any such inquiries, determine the
25
application by either—
(a)
issuing a public collections certificate in respect of the collections, or
(b)
refusing the application on one or more of the grounds specified in
section 53(1).
(3)
A public collections certificate—
30
(a)
must specify such matters as may be prescribed, and
(b)
shall (subject to section 56) be in force for—
(i)
the period specified in the application in accordance with
section 51(3)(b), or
(ii)
such shorter period as the Commission thinks fit.
35
(4)
The Commission may, at the time of issuing a public collections certificate,
attach to it such conditions as it thinks fit.
(5)
Conditions attached under subsection (4) may include conditions prescribed
for the purposes of that subsection.
(6)
The Commission must secure that the terms of any conditions attached under
40
subsection (4) are consistent with the provisions of any regulations under
section 63 (whether or not prescribing conditions for the purposes of that
subsection).
(7)
Where the Commission—

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 3 — Funding for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institutions
Chapter 1 — Public charitable collections
59

(a)
refuses to issue a certificate, or
(b)
attaches any condition to it,

it must serve on the applicant written notice of its decision and the reasons for
its decision.
(8)
That notice must also state the right of appeal conferred by section 57(1) and
5
the time within which such an appeal must be brought.
53
Grounds for refusing to issue a certificate
(1)
The grounds on which the Commission may refuse an application for a public
collections certificate are—
(a)
that the applicant has been convicted of a relevant offence;
10
(b)
where the applicant is a person other than a charitable, benevolent or
philanthropic institution for whose benefit the collections are proposed
to be conducted, that the Commission is not satisfied that the applicant
is authorised (whether by any such institution or by any person acting
on behalf of any such institution) to promote the collections;
15
(c)
that it appears to the Commission that the applicant, in promoting any
other collection authorised under this Chapter or under section 119 of
the 1982 Act, failed to exercise the required due diligence;
(d)
that the Commission is not satisfied that the applicant will exercise the
required due diligence in promoting the proposed collections;
20
(e)
that it appears to the Commission that the amount likely to be applied
for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes in consequence of
the proposed collections would be inadequate, having regard to the
likely amount of the proceeds of the collections;
(f)
that it appears to the Commission that the applicant or any other
25
person would be likely to receive an amount by way of remuneration
in connection with the collections that would be excessive, having
regard to all the circumstances;
(g)
that the applicant has failed to provide information—
(i)
required for the purposes of the application for the certificate or
30
a previous application, or
(ii)
in response to a request under section 54(1);
(h)
that it appears to the Commission that information so provided to it by
the applicant is false or misleading in a material particular;
(i)
that it appears to the Commission that the applicant or any person
35
authorised by him—
(i)
has breached any conditions attached to a previous public
collections certificate, or
(ii)
has persistently breached any conditions attached to a permit
issued under section 59;
40
(j)
that it appears to the Commission that the applicant or any person
authorised by him has on any occasion breached any provision of
regulations made under section 63(1)(b).
(2)
For the purposes of subsection (1)—
(a)
a “relevant offence” is—
45
(i)
an offence under section 5 of the 1916 Act;
(ii)
an offence under the 1939 Act;

Charities Bill [HL]
Part 3 — Funding for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institutions
Chapter 1 — Public charitable collections
60

(iii)
an offence under section 119 of the 1982 Act or regulations made
under it;
(iv)
an offence under this Chapter;
(v)
an offence involving dishonesty; or
(vi)
an offence of a kind the commission of which would, in the
5
opinion of the Commission, be likely to be facilitated by the
issuing to the applicant of a public collections certificate; and
(b)
the “required due diligence” is due diligence—
(i)
to secure that persons authorised by the applicant to act as
collectors for the purposes of the collection were (or will be) fit
10
and proper persons;
(ii)
to secure that such persons complied (or will comply) with the
provisions of regulations under section 63(1)(b) of this Act or (as
the case may be) section 119 of the 1982 Act; or
(iii)
to prevent badges or certificates of authority being obtained by
15
persons other than those the applicant had so authorised.
(3)
Where an application for a certificate is made by more than one person, any
reference to the applicant in subsection (1) or (2) is to be construed as a
reference to any of the applicants.
(4)
Subject to subsections (5) and (6), the reference in subsection (2)(b)(iii) to
20
badges or certificates of authority is a reference to badges or certificates of
authority in a form prescribed by regulations under section 63(1)(b) of this Act
or (as the case may be) under section 119 of the 1982 Act.
(5)
Subsection (2)(b) applies to the conduct of the applicant (or any of the
applicants) in relation to any public charitable collection authorised—
25
(a)
under regulations made under section 5 of the 1916 Act (collection of
money or sale of articles in a street or other public place), or
(b)
under the 1939 Act (collection of money or other property by means of
visits from house to house),

as it applies to his conduct in relation to a collection authorised under this
30
Chapter, but subject to the modifications set out in subsection (6).
(6)
The modifications are—
(a)
in the case of a collection authorised under regulations made under the
1916 Act—
(i)
the reference in subsection (2)(b)(ii) to regulations under section
35
63(1)(b) of this Act is to be construed as a reference to the
regulations under which the collection in question was
authorised, and
(ii)
the reference in subsection (2)(b)(iii) to badges or certificates of
authority is to be construed as a reference to any written
40
authority provided to a collector pursuant to those regulations;
and
(b)
in the case of a collection authorised under the 1939 Act—
(i)
the reference in subsection (2)(b)(ii) to regulations under section
63(1)(b) of this Act is to be construed as a reference to
45
regulations under section 4 of that Act, and
(ii)
the reference in subsection (2)(b)(iii) to badges or certificates of
authority is to be construed as a reference to badges or
certificates of authority in a form prescribed by such
regulations.
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Charities Bill [HL]
Part 3 — Funding for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institutions
Chapter 1 — Public charitable collections
61

(7)
In subsections (1)(c) and (5) a reference to a collection authorised under this
Chapter is a reference to a public charitable collection that—
(a)
is conducted in accordance with section 48 or section 49 (as the case
may be), or
(b)
is an exempt collection by virtue of section 50.
5
(8)
In this section—
“the 1916 Act” means the Police, Factories, &c (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Act 1916 (c. 31);
“the 1939 Act” means the House to House Collections Act 1939 (c. 44); and
“the 1982 Act” means the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (c. 45).
10
54
Power to call for information and documents
(1)
The Commission may request—
(a)
any applicant for a public collections certificate, or
(b)
any person to whom such a certificate has been issued,

to provide it with any information in his possession, or document in his
15
custody or under this control, which is relevant to the exercise of any of its
functions under this Chapter.
(2)
Nothing in this section affects the power conferred on the Commission by
section 9 of the 1993 Act.
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Transfer of certificate between trustees of unincorporated charity
20
(1)
One or more individuals to whom a public collections certificate has been
issued (“the holders”) may apply to the Commission for a direction that the
certificate be transferred to one or more other individuals (“the recipients”).
(2)
An application under subsection (1) must—
(a)
be in such form as may be specified, and
25
(b)
contain such information as may be specified.
(3)
The Commission may direct that the certificate be transferred if it is satisfied
that—
(a)
each of the holders is or was a trustee of a charity which is not a body
corporate;
30
(b)
each of the recipients is a trustee of that charity and consents to the
transfer; and
(c)
the charity trustees consent to the transfer.
(4)
Where the Commission refuses to direct that a certificate be transferred, it must
serve on the holders written notice of—
35
(a)
its decision, and
(b)
the reasons for its decision.
(5)
That notice must also state the right of appeal conferred by section 57(2) and
the time within which such an appeal must be brought.
(6)
Subsections (5) and (6) of section 51 apply for the purposes of subsection (2) of
40
this section as they apply for the purposes of subsection (3) of that section.
(7)
Except as provided by this section, a public collections certificate is not
transferable.