Joint Committee on the Draft Charities Bill

Joint Committee on the Draft Charities Bill Written Evidence

DCH 164 Memorandum from Shelter

For the attention of Francene Graham, Committee Assistant to the Joint Committee on the Draft Charities Bill

Dear Ms Graham

Shelter relies on face to face fundraising. This financial year we will be recruiting over 20,000 new supporters giving regularly through direct debit; without their donations Shelter would simply not be able to carry out our invaluable support services for people enduring homelessness and bad housing.

While Shelter welcomes in principal the proposed introduction of a unified licensing scheme for public fundraising, we share the concerns voiced by both the Institute of Fundraising and the Professional Fundraising Regulatory Association.

In particular:

We believe that any guidance for the interpretation of regulation should be statutory, to ensure clarity and consistency. We ask that in-depth assessment of the resources of London's local authorities with regard to licensing is carried out. The proposed changes will make the heaviest demands upon those authorities which have had no previous experience of administering face to face activity, as London's activity is currently under the remit of the Metropolitan Police. We believe that all paid fundraisers should declare the nature of their remuneration. Should members of the public want to know more information, it should be sufficient for the fundraiser to direct them to a spokesperson within the charity who can provide them with further details.

In addition:

We believe that accredited members of the PFRA have already demonstrated that their face-to-face recruitment activity and administration is carried out responsibly. We would therefore ask that those organisations who are accredited members of the PFRA should be granted a certificate of fitness without their lead authorities having to carry out further checks which would be burdensome on both the local authority and the charity.

Yours sincerely,

Ben McNaught

Direct Marketing Executive

Shelter

020 7505 2074 ___________________________________________________

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Bad housing wrecks lives.

We are the fourth richest country in the world, and yet millions of people

in Britain wake up every day in housing that is run-down, overcrowded or

dangerous. Many others have lost their homes altogether. Bad housing robs

us of security, health, and a fair chance in life.

Shelter believes everyone should have a home.

We help 100,000 people a year fight for their rights, get back on their

feet, and find and keep a home. But we also tackle the root causes of

Britain's housing crisis by campaigning for new laws, policies and

solutions.

We can only do this with your support.

Campaign for change at www.shelter.org.uk ___________________________________________________