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 3 — Financial assistance
76


but do not prevent the functions concerned from being exercised by the
Secretary of State.
(8)
As soon as possible after 31st March in each year, the Secretary of State must
make a report on the exercise of powers under this section during the period of
12 months ending on that day.
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(9)
The Secretary of State must lay a copy of the report before each House of
Parliament.
(10)
In this section “charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution” means—
(a)
a charity, or
(b)
an institution (other than a charity) which is established for charitable,
10
benevolent or philanthropic purposes.
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Power of National Assembly for Wales to give financial assistance to
charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institutions
(1)
The National Assembly for Wales may give financial assistance to any
charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution in respect of any of the
15
institution’s activities which directly or indirectly benefit the whole or any part
of Wales (whether or not they also benefit any other area).
(2)
Financial assistance under subsection (1) may be given in any form and, in
particular, may be given by way of—
(a)
grants,
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(b)
loans,
(c)
guarantees, or
(d)
incurring expenditure for the benefit of the person assisted.
(3)
Financial assistance under subsection (1) may be given on such terms and
conditions as the Assembly considers appropriate.
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(4)
Those terms and conditions may, in particular, include provision as to—
(a)
the purposes for which the assistance may be used;
(b)
circumstances in which the assistance is to be repaid, or otherwise
made good, to the Assembly, and the manner in which that is to be
done;
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(c)
the making of reports to the Assembly regarding the uses to which the
assistance has been put;
(d)
the keeping, and making available for inspection, of accounts and other
records;
(e)
the carrying out of examinations by the Auditor General for Wales into
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the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the assistance has
been used;
(f)
the giving by the institution of financial assistance in any form to other
persons on such terms and conditions as the institution or the
Assembly considers appropriate.
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(5)
A person receiving assistance under this section must comply with the terms
and conditions on which it is given, and compliance may be enforced by the
Assembly.
(6)
The Assembly may make arrangements for—
(a)
assistance under subsection (1) to be given, or
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Charities Bill [HL]
Part 4 — Final provisions
77

(b)
any other of its functions under this section to be exercised,

by some other person.
(7)
Arrangements under subsection (6) may make provision for the functions
concerned to be so exercised—
(a)
either wholly or to such extent as may be specified in the arrangements,
5
and
(b)
either generally or in such cases or circumstances as may be so
specified,

but do not prevent the functions concerned from being exercised by the
Assembly.
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(8)
After 31st March in each year, the Assembly must publish a report on the
exercise of powers under this section during the period of 12 months ending
on that day.
(9)
In this section “charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution” means—
(a)
a charity, or
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(b)
an institution (other than a charity) which is established for charitable,
benevolent or philanthropic purposes.
Part 4
Final provisions
72
Report on operation of this Act
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(1)
The Secretary of State must, before the end of the period of five years beginning
with the day on which this Act is passed, appoint a person to review generally
the operation of this Act.
(2)
The review must address, in particular, the following matters—
(a)
the effect of the Act on—
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(i)
excepted charities,
(ii)
public confidence in charities,
(iii)
the level of charitable donations, and
(iv)
the willingness of individuals to volunteer,
(b)
the status of the Charity Commission as a government department, and
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(c)
any other matters the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(3)
After the person appointed under subsection (1) has completed his review, he
must compile a report of his conclusions.
(4)
The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a copy of the report
mentioned in subsection (3).
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(5)
For the purposes of this section a charity is an excepted charity if —
(a)
it falls within paragraph (b) or (c) of section 3A(2) of the 1993 Act (as
amended by section 9 of this Act), or
(b)
it does not fall within either of those paragraphs but, immediately
before the coming into force of section 9 of this Act, it fell within section
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3(5)(b) or (5B)(b) of the 1993 Act.

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Part 4 — Final provisions
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73
Orders and regulations
(1)
Any power of the Secretary of State to make an order or regulations under this
Act is exercisable by statutory instrument.
(2)
Any such power—
(a)
may be exercised so as to make different provision for different cases or
5
descriptions of case or different purposes or areas, and
(b)
includes power to make such incidental, supplementary,
consequential, transitory, transitional or saving provision as the
Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(3)
Subject to subsection (4), orders or regulations made by the Secretary of State
10
under this Act are to be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of
either House of Parliament.
(4)
Subsection (3) does not apply to—
(a)
any order under section 11,
(b)
any regulations under section 13(4)(b) which amend any provision of
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an Act,
(c)
any order under section 74(4) which amends or repeals any provision
of an Act or an Act of the Scottish Parliament,
(d)
any order under section 75, or
(e)
any order under section 77(2).
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(5)
No order or regulations within subsection (4)(a), (b), (c) or (d) may be made by
the Secretary of State (whether alone or with other provisions) unless a draft of
the order or regulations has been laid before, and approved by resolution of,
each House of Parliament.
(6)
If a draft of an instrument containing an order under section 11 would, apart
25
from this subsection, be treated for the purposes of the Standing Orders of
either House of Parliament as a hybrid instrument, it is to proceed in that
House as if it were not such an instrument.
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Amendments, repeals, revocations and transitional provisions
(1)
Schedule 8 contains minor and consequential amendments.
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(2)
Schedule 9 makes provision for the repeal and revocation of enactments
(including enactments which are spent).
(3)
Schedule 10 contains transitional provisions and savings.
(4)
The Secretary of State may by order make—
(a)
such supplementary, incidental or consequential provision, or
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(b)
such transitory, transitional or saving provision,

as he considers appropriate for the general purposes, or any particular
purposes, of this Act or in consequence of, or for giving full effect to, any
provision made by this Act.
(5)
An order under subsection (4) may amend, repeal, revoke or otherwise modify
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any enactment.

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Part 4 — Final provisions
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75
Pre-consolidation amendments
(1)
The Secretary of State may by order make such amendments of the enactments
relating to charities as in his opinion facilitate, or are otherwise desirable in
connection with, the consolidation of the whole or part of those enactments.
(2)
An order under this section shall not come into force unless—
5
(a)
a single Act, or
(b)
a group of two or more Acts,

is passed consolidating the whole or part of the enactments relating to charities
(with or without any other enactments).
(3)
If such an Act or group of Acts is passed, the order shall (by virtue of this
10
subsection) come into force immediately before the Act or group of Acts comes
into force.
(4)
Once an order under this section has come into force, no further order may be
made under this section.
(5)
In this section—
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“amendments” includes repeals, revocations and modifications, and
“the enactments relating to charities” means—
(a)
the Charities Act 1992 (c. 41), the Charities Act 1993 (c. 10) and
this Act,
(b)
any other enactment relating to institutions which fall within
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section 1(1) of this Act, and
(c)
any other enactment, so far as forming part of the law of
England and Wales, which makes provision relating to bodies
or other institutions which are charities under the law of
Scotland or Northern Ireland,
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and section 76(2)(a) (definition of “charity”) does not apply for the purposes of
this section.
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Interpretation
(1)
In this Act—
“the 1992 Act” means the Charities Act 1992;
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“the 1993 Act” means the Charities Act 1993.
(2)
In this Act—
(a)
“charity” has the meaning given by section 1(1);
(b)
“charitable purposes” has (in accordance with section 2(6)) the meaning
given by section 2(1); and
35
(c)
“charity trustees” has the same meaning as in the 1993 Act;

but (subject to subsection (3) below) the exclusions contained in section 96(2)
of the 1993 Act (ecclesiastical corporations etc.) have effect in relation to
references to a charity in this Act as they have effect in relation to such
references in that Act.
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(3)
Those exclusions do not have effect in relation to references in section 1 or any
reference to the law relating to charities in England and Wales.
(4)
In this Act “enactment” includes—
(a)
any provision of subordinate legislation (within the meaning of the
Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30)),
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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
(c)
(in the context of section 6(5) or 74(5)) any provision made by or under
an Act of the Scottish Parliament or Northern Ireland legislation,

and references to enactments include enactments passed or made after the
5
passing of this Act.
(5)
In this Act “institution” means an institution whether incorporated or not, and
includes a trust or undertaking.
(6)
Subsections (2) to (5) apply except where the context otherwise requires.
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Commencement
10
(1)
The following provisions come into force on the day on which this Act is
passed—
(a)
section 13(4) and (5),
(b)
section 73,
(c)
section 74(4) and (5),
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(d)
section 76, and
(e)
this section and section 78.
(2)
Otherwise, this Act comes into force on such day as the Secretary of State may
by order appoint.
(3)
An order under subsection (2)—
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(a)
may appoint different days for different purposes or different areas;
(b)
make such provision as the Secretary of State considers necessary or
expedient for transitory, transitional or saving purposes in connection
with the coming into force of any provision of this Act.
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Short title and extent
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(1)
This Act may be cited as the Charities Act 2005.
(2)
Subject to subsections (3) to (5), this Act extends to England and Wales only.
(3)
The following provisions extend also to Scotland and Northern Ireland—
(a)
section 6(5), and
(b)
(subject to subsections (5) and (6)) this Part.
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(4)
Section 23 extends also to Northern Ireland.
(5)
Any amendment, repeal or revocation made by this Act has the same extent as
the enactment to which it relates.
(6)
But this does not apply to the amendments made by section 32 in the
Companies Act 1985 (c. 6), which extend to England and Wales only.
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(7)
Any amendment, repeal or revocation made by this Act in the Recreational
Charities Act 1958 (c. 17) affects the law of Scotland or Northern Ireland in
relation only to the operation of the Income Tax Acts.
(8)
Nothing in this Act shall impose any charge on the people or on public
funds, or vary the amount or incidence of or otherwise alter any such charge
40
in any manner, or affect the assessment, levying, administration or
application of any money raised by any such charge.