DCH 216 Church In Wales
Memorandum OF EVIDENCE
to the joint PARLIAMENTARY committee
ON THE DRAFT CHARITIES BILL
Introduction
1. This memorandum is submitted by the Church
In Wales ("the Church") an Anglican Church, which was
disestablished from the Church of England by Act of Parliament
in 1920. The Church in Wales is organised into six Dioceses each
of which has a Diocesan Board of Finance (all of which are registered
charitable companies). There are 1,579 parishes within the Province
of Wales (the term "Parishes" will be used throughout
and should be taken to include both parishes and benefices).
2. Our main observation on the Draft Charities
Bill concerns sections 7 & 8 which amend the law on the registration
of excepted charities. Our Parishes are currently excepted from
registration under The Charities Act 1993 and we request that
the Joint Committee considers the impact that the proposed registration
requirement will have on our volunteers. Our submission concerns
questions 1 & 2 of the Scope of the Committee's Inquiry.
OUR VOLUNTEERS: WILL THEY BE ENCOURAGED?
3. Our Parishes are voluntary organisations
which continue to serve society as they have done over the centuries
The Parishioners are active members of society undertaking voluntary
work for the benefit of their fellow citizens. It is they who
keep our churches open for public worship, for baptisms, weddings
and funerals and ensure that our church halls are available for
the use of the local community.
4. Our main concern is the weight of legislation
that is being imposed upon the voluntary sector at a time when
it is under pressure from a number of areas. Our Parishes are
already coping with increasing regulation of the many activities
they undertake both in terms of time and money. It is the practical
impact of this further regulation which is of such concern.
5. The Children's Act and the Disability Discrimination
Act are just two examples of legislation which has meant that
our volunteers are expected to do even more to maintain our activities.
The Church has embraced the additional work these new provisions
require since there are clear benefits to be gained by society
through implementing them. Where possible, we have gone further
than the legal requirements to ensure the spirit of the law is
taken on board and satisfied through our actions. However, in
the case of registration it is simply a regulatory requirement:
there is no tangible benefit.
6. As with many other voluntary bodies we are
already experiencing difficulties in recruiting secretaries and
treasurers to some of our parishes and placing additional administrative
burdens upon these individuals will cause further deterioration.
The impact of further Regulation must be considered carefully:
if we are faced with mass resignations then the structure we have
today will face a real threat and may disintegrate.
Flexibility and Accountability
7. The draft Bill includes provisions for
some currently exempt charities to be treated differently in a
way which avoids them having to register with the Charity Commission.
These exempt charities will be registered with a "regulatory
body". We request that consideration be given to our Parishes
being regulated under a similar system with the Representative
Body and/or the Diocesan Boards of Finance being designated as
a "regulatory body". The Church in Wales has a national
structure with a Representative Body and individual Diocesan Boards
of Finance.
8. The fiscal benefits to our Parishes are
already regulated by the Inland Revenue. Also, the Church has
its own accounting regulations which comply with charities legislation
and follow the Charity Commission's best practice. These regulations
require that an annual report and accounts are produced to the
annual vestry meeting (a public meeting) and there is provision
for a copy to be sent to the archdeacon who can take further action
if the report and accounts do not comply with our regulations
or the Charities Acts.
9. When the Church was disestablished from the
Church of England the parishes lost their corporate status. The
land and buildings previously owned by our parishes were transferred
to the Representative Body of the Church In Wales (an exempt charity
which will be registered as a consequence of the new Act), or
in some cases to our Diocesan Boards of Finance (registered charitable
companies) and Diocesan Trusts. Therefore in all but a few instances
our parishes do not hold any real property.
10. We do not seek to evade registration,
we undertake our duties diligently and comply with the law in
relation to all our activities: it is the practical imposition
of further regulation that is our major concern. The Private Action,
Public Benefit review said of grassroots charities that these
charities "by and large … present the least regulatory
risk, and have the least capacity to cope with regulation"
(paragraph 7.81). Our parishes are the grassroots of the Church
In Wales. We believe that any further pressures on our officers
may mean the difference between maintaining a structure that has
benefited communities over the centuries or losing our volunteers
with the consequence that the nation will lose a focus in every
community which works with other statutory and voluntary organisations
for the common good.
11. We understand the current intention is that
the threshold for registration of existing excepted charities
(£100,000 annual income) will be kept in place for a considerable
time and lowered gradually. However this is primarily a way of
'managing' the registration of the many thousands of excepted
charities. We object to the principle that all our Parishes must
submit to individual registration with the Charity Commission
and not be monitored in a way which has a 'light touch'. The impact
of registration will be experienced by each individual parish
regardless of whether it is this year, next year or beyond.
Is it fair to retain 'excepted' charities?
12. Concerns were raised in the Private Action,
Public Benefit review that it may be "unfair" to allow
the current group of charities to retain their special status
as they are "all Christian" (para 7.91). We do not seek
to maintain exclusive privileges for ourselves but to question
why the current model of accountability that has proved itself
over the generations needs to be changed. Our model of accountability
could be extended to similar organisations of any religion if
deemed to be appropriate
CONCLUSION
13. The Government has stated on many occasions
that it wishes to see more people being involved in the work of
the voluntary sector. There must be a balance between accountability
and over-regulation. No evidence has been presented to us revealing
that the present supervisory arrangements are not working effectively
or efficiently. It is our view that requiring the registration
of our Parishes will result in the loss of volunteers and ultimately
a loss to society of the benefits, which derive from our many
activities in every community in the Principality. Therefore
we respectfully request that the committee considers carefully
the impact of section 7 and 8 of the Draft Charities Bill on the
parishes of the Church in Wales and either permit the present
arrangements to remain in place or provide for a similar system
to be put in place through the proposed legislation.
Prepared by E Kay Powell
Solicitor
Legal Department
Church in Wales
June 2004
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