Memorandum from the Charity Commission,
29 September 2008
As promised, we have enclosed an update on our
public benefit work, which includes a summary of the responses
we received to our sub-sector consultations, as well as some information
about how we will be taking forward public benefit assessments.[1]
You might also be interested to know that we
have recently published a report about our compliance work, Back
on Track, which gives a thematic overview of our approach. We
are also about to launch an improved version of our online Register
of Charities, which will make it easier to see at a glance how
individual charities are raising and spending funds. I have enclosed
an anonymised example of a charity's entry and some explanatory
notes so that you can see how the system will look. I know this
is an area of our work which the Committee asked about last time
we appeared, and I hope when you see the new system you will be
pleased with the improved accountability and transparency it brings.
We'd be very pleased to arrange an interactive demonstration for
the Committee at any convenient time.
If you have any queries in advance of the session
please get in touch. Otherwise, we'll look forward to seeing you
on 9 October.
ANNEX—EXAMPLE
OF A
CHARITY'S
ENTRY AND
SOME EXPLANATORY
NOTES
THE NEW
REGISTER OF
CHARITIES
The Charity Commission has a statutory duty
to maintain a public Register of Charities and we are about to
launch (on 1 October 2008) a new Register designed to make key
information about a charity much clearer and more accessible.
Improved navigation and enhanced search facilities will make finding
what you want to know about a charity quicker and easier.
Core information about a charity's work and
finances are presented on a single page. There are details of
a charity's activities, where it operates and, for larger charities
with an income over £500,000, a succinct financial profile
of its income and spending including employee and volunteer numbers.
We are giving far greater prominence to a charity's
filing record and its Register entry will indicate whether its
latest due documents have been filed on time
The financial profiles for larger charities
are supplied directly by the charities themselves through their
Annual Return submission and the breakdown of income and spending
is consistent with the categories used in the accounting and reporting
statement of recommended charities (SORP) for charities. They
also supply details of their assets and liabilities. This information
allows us to provide an at-a-glance summary of the charity's financial
position. Help and guidance to explain terms and definitions for
users appear on every page.
There is also an opportunity for users to provide
feedback on the Register.
SAMPLE CHARITY
RECORDS
The enclosure shows the first of up to seven
pages that will make up the online register entry for a charity
with an income of over £500,000. Throughout the Register
the information symbols allow users to click through to an explanation
of the terms and categories used.
Charities that have submitted their latest due
accounts and annual returns will have their namesurrounded by
a green banner (as in this case). If these documents are overdue
the banner will be red.
FINANCIAL PROFILE
The pie charts show a charity's income and expenditure
profile. The colours are the same where there is a relationship
between the income and expenditure elements. For example, blue
represents both voluntary income and the costs associated with
generating that income.
Beneath the income pie chart is a bar graph
showing the charity's assets, liabilities, staff and volunteers
and to the right of this there is a bar which shows charitable,
and non-charitable, spending levels. The blue section of the bar
shows non-charitable spending such as fundraising costs. The purple
section on the right shows unspent funds carried forward to the
following year and the green section in the centre shows charitable
spending levels. In the live online version the percentages are
displayed when the cursor is held on each section.
1 Public Administration Select Committee, Oral and
written evidence, Charities and Public Benefit, HC 663-iv, Ev
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