DCH 241 Sense submission
5 July 2004
Francene Graham
Assistant to the Joint Committee on the Draft
Charities Bill
Scrutiny Unit
Room G10
7 Millbank
London SW1P 3JA
Dear Ms Graham
Sense submission to Joint Committee on the
Draft Charities Bill
Sense is the national charity that works
and campaigns for the needs of people who are deafblind, providing
advice, support, information and services for deafblind people,
their families and professionals. We are grateful for the opportunity
to make a submission to the Joint Committee on the Draft Charities
Bill and would like to respond to the
following two points in the Draft Bill.
1. Public benefit
One of the proposed new objectives for the
Charity Commission is to "encourage charities to maximise
their social and economic impact". We believe that this should
be reworded as "to encourage charities to maximise their
public benefit".
2. Licensing of public collections
Under the proposals in the Draft Bill, street collections
will become more heavily regulated, and will require a permit;
however, people undertaking door-to-door collections will not
have to apply for such a permit. We believe that doorstep collections
are as intrusive as street collections, if not more so. Deafblind
people are at particular risk from unscrupulous callers. We therefore
believe that door-to-door and street collections should be regulated
in the same way, i.e. charities should have to apply for a certificate
of fitness and a permit before being allowed to collect door-to-door.
Thank you again for the opportunity to contribute
to the debate on the draft Bill. We look forward to reading the
report of the Joint Committee in due course.
Yours sincerely
Katie Hanson
Parliamentary and Public Policy Officer
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