The Regulator for Charities in England and Wales
The commemoration of a particularly significant historical event may be regarded as charitable for a charity whose objects permit it to stimulate feelings of civic pride. Such a significant event is often defined in the charity's governing document but even if it is not specifically mentioned by name, the trustees may still have the power to use their funds to commemorate it. In the past, for example, some charities asked us whether it was permissible to use their funds to commemorate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
So long as the commemoration can reasonably be regarded as part of the objects, there is no reason why a charity should not spend some of its funds in providing, say, firework displays or commemorative mugs or similar small tokens to commemorate the event.
The Inland Revenue have agreed with the approach outlined above. However, they have asked us to point out that if charities buy in or manufacture commemorative articles and then sell them at a profit, that profit may be taxable if these activities are not within the charities' primary purposes and there is no relevant relief or exemption. Further information on the tax position is available from the Inland Revenue's web site at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/charities/annex_iv.htm.
We have new guidance for trustees Conflicts in your Charity which sets out what a charity should do if it gets into a dispute. It is the responsibility of trustees to ensure that disputes within their charities are resolved. We will become involved with a dispute only where there are no validly appointed trustees and all other methods of resolving it have failed. Conflicts in your Charity also provides a list of useful organisations that might be able to provide further help or guidance.
Please see our publication CC8.
No, you don’t, although you should obviously check with the relevant Local Authority about their requirements. You will however, need to get agreement for the owner of the land e.g. supermarkets, railway stations etc.
It sounds fun, but we’re not able to give a view about specific fundraising ventures. Charities need to comply with Part ii of the Charities Act 1992 where appropriate. However, trustees need to ensure that whichever method chosen it is in the best interests of the charity, and not only in a financial sense. They need to be alert and sensitive to public opinion and criticism. Additionally they should seek appropriate professional advice where appropriate.
You will need to contact your Local Authority and ask for the Licensing Officer or, in the London area, the Metropolitan Police, and ask to be put through to the Licensing Section. They will be able to tell you whether you need a licence, how to get one and what you need to do in order to meet their regulations. Our publication, CC20 "Charities and Fund-raising" gives further details.
Again, you should check with the relevant Local Authority about their requirements. Obviously, you will also need to get agreement from the owner of the land, eg supermarket. Our publication, CC20 "Charities and Fund-raising" gives further details.
Yes, but you will not be able to say you are a registered charity. This is because of the general legal principle that charities must be established for the benefit of the public or a significant section of it. You should seek advice from the Local Authority if undertaking street or house to house collections. Whilst fund raising such as this is not considered to be charitable, we would suggest that the fundamental principal of transparency is important and that proper books and records should be maintained.
If the charity has an income of over £10,000 then the fact that the charity is registered must be on the leaflet. As a matter of best practice the literature should say how and what the charity is fundraising for. If the charity is fundraising for a specific purpose e.g. a school swimming pool the trustees should make a statement to the effect that if more or less money is received for the appeal then the monies will be applied for the general purposes of the charity. If this is not the case the Commission may need to consider whether a Scheme of the Commissioners is required to apply the funds. This can be a lengthy and laborious process!
Yes, but you will need to adhere to relevant charity law where appropriate i.e. if the web site is managed by a professional fund raiser etc. Whilst we cannot give extensive advice on this issue we should point out a number of areas that trustees need to be aware of including:
As with all fundraising areas where trustees are not clear about the law, they should seek proper professional advice.
You would need to speak to your local authority or Gaming Board of Great Britain. For further advice, please see paragraphs 27 – 31 of our publication CC20. You can view this on our website or order this publication by getting in touch with our Contact Centre 0845 300 0218.
You can find full details on our Access to Charity Commission records page.
If you are planning to set up a charitable company to “take over” your charity’s current and future operations, you should read our “incorporation pack”. This contains guidance on the process and the issues you will need to consider. It also includes a special application form for registering the new company with us.
Note: If you wish to use the word Charity or charitable in the name of the company you should complete the pack before you incorporate the company at Companies House. Registration can only be completed after we have agreed to the name and you have received your certificate of incorporation from Companies House.
Please see paragraph 4 of our publication CC28.
Please see paragraphs 6 to 16 of our publication CC28.
Usually no. If trustees follow the statutory requirements in relation to the type of disposal they are carrying out (contained in sections 36 to 40 of the Charities Act 1993) they will not need to obtain our consent. We will only give our consent to a disposal where trustees are unable to follow the statutory requirements.
For more information please see our publication CC28.
Please see our publication CC33
Please see our publication CC48.
Please see paragraphs 45 to 48 of our publication CC48.
Please see paragraphs 9 to 16 of our publication CC48.
Please see paragraphs 62 to 64 of our publication CC48.
Yes. Unless the charity's governing document specifically prohibits it, trustees can choose to hold some meetings by electronic means, as long as they can both see and hear each other (eg using video conferencing or internet video facilities). Meetings like this can be useful if an emergency decision is needed, trustees live a long way from each other, or if it makes it easier for trustees with disabilities to participate. Where a trustee board includes trustees with disabilities, the board should aim to provide appropriate facilities to allow them to participate in a meeting, whether electronic or not.
We recommend that if electronic meetings are held, at least one face-to-face meeting of all the charity trustees takes place each year.
Yes they can. We recommend that charities make the minutes of the AGM available to the public on request: they may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of providing them.
The Official Custodian for Charities (the OC) is a member of the Commission's staff who is appointed by the Commissioners to hold land and, in a few special cases, investments on behalf of charities. Subject to the provisions of the 1993 Act, the OC has all the same powers, duties, and liabilities of a custodian trustee, is entitled to the same rights and immunities, and is subject to the control and Orders of the Court. Please see our publication CC13.
Please see our publication CC13
The Official Custodian usually allows the charity trustees to keep or have control of the land certificates or title deed to land which has been vested in him.
Please see paragraphs 15 to 17 of our publication CC13
Yes.
Anglican PCCs are excepted charities, which usually do not need to be registered with the Commission.
Yes, following the guidance laid down by the Church Accounting Regulations 2006, which require PCCs to comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 1993 (1993 Act) and the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting by charities (SORP). However, all PCC accounts are required to have an independent examination even if this is not required by the 1993 Act.
No, only if the PCC is registered with us.
Permanent endowment is property of a charity (ie land and buildings, investments or cash) which generally the trustees may not spend as if it were income without authority. This is a complex area; while it will usually be clear whether funds are held as permanent endowment, it is not always straightforward. We advise you to read our information sheet CSD1347A which explains more about what permanent endowment is and the circumstances when you may spend it. .
Please see our publication CC9
OG 1 – Orders and Schemes – which is available under our Operational Guidance page provides detailed guidance on this subject. The following questions and answers are based on this guidance.
An Order is a legal document made by us for a particular purpose. We have powers under several sections of the Charities Act 1993 to make certain types of Order, for example,
An order made under section 26 of the Charities act 1993 can:
We cannot make an Order:
For further information please see OG 1 A2 section 4.
A Scheme is a legal document made by us (normally under section 16 of the Charities Act 1993) to change almost any aspect of a charity’s trusts. In practice, we will only make a Scheme where a case is made for us to change the trusts of a charity but the changes go beyond the scope of our Order making powers.
Please see OG 1 A2 section 5.
There are a number of key differences. For example, a Scheme directly changes the trusts of a charity; an Order simply confers a power on trustees to do something. The scope of our Scheme making powers is wider than the scope our Order making powers.
Typically, a Scheme will be appropriate where:
These are all areas where we cannot make Orders. In addition, we would not make an Order where the changes are sensitive or controversial.
The other differences are administrative. In summary, a Scheme can only be made after a valid application has been made and after a period of public notice. Once we have made the Scheme, there is a further period for public notice and the opportunity to appeal to the High Court against our Scheme.
OG 1 B4 explains what notice, both public and personal, must be given of our intention to make a Scheme.
View the latest Schemes on the website
Cy-près is a Norman French word meaning "near this". Application of the cy-près doctrine enables us and the Courts to prescribe new purposes for a charity whose existing trusts have "failed".
There is no formal application procedure for an Order. You should write to us setting out the reasons why you think that an Order is necessary.
In the case of Scheme, it will normally be the charity trustees acting together as a body who apply for a Scheme.
For further information on the application procedure for a Scheme please see OG 1 B2.
Provisions of the Charities Act 1993 enable trustees of small charities to apply the income and capital of their charity in more appropriate and effective ways. Small charities to whom the provisions apply may have the option of selecting from one or more of the following options:
We recommend you read the information sheets and use the relevant declaration forms which are available on the small charities page.
In summary we can take a more proportionate (or 'light touch') approach to small charities. Our main aim is to enable the trustees of smaller charities to make relatively straightforward - but important - decisions without the need to constantly justify decisions to us in detail. Issues where trustees will be able to make decisions more quickly and efficiently include, for example, the business of changing many aspects of their charity’s governing document.
For further information about the principles we follow in regulating small charities, see OG 200.
Small charities in Wales will be treated the same as all other small charities with a lighter touch approach to regulation. But these charities will be looked after by our Wales office as part of the centralised service for charities in Wales.
Please see our publication CC60
HM Revenue and Customs give detailed information about tax issues for charities and can be found at their web site http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities.
Advice on VAT issues is dealt with by HM Revenue and Customs and can be found on their web site at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities . Brief guidance on the VAT issues relating to admission charges for cultural charities is available on our VAT registration page.
Charity trustees are the people who are legally responsible for the overall management and decision making in a charity. They may be called something else – a member of the management or executive committee, a governor, a director, or some other title. Whatever they are called, if they are a member of the board or committee with overall responsibility for a charity, they are a charity trustee.
Trustees are responsible for the direction and performance of their charity. If a charity has few or no staff, they may be directly involved in the day-to-day running of the charity. If it is a larger charity, staff will usually carry out the work of the charity and the trustees will be responsible for monitoring and controlling their activities.
Please see our Welcome leaflet for new trustees. It introduces some issues you may need to know about and areas where you may need to find out more.
Please see our publication CC3.
See our leaflet CC 11.
Please see our publication CC24.
An ex officio trustee means a trustee by virtue of their office. Normally this relates to positions such as the vicar of a parish, the mayor of a town, etc. Ex officio trustees have the same responsibilities as other charity trustees.
Holding trustees, or some similar name, are individuals who are appointed to hold the legal title of charity property. The governing document may confer other duties or responsibilities on holding trustees and so it is important that it is consulted in every case. See also custodian trustee which has a related but different meaning.
A custodian trustee is a corporation appointed to have the custody, as distinct from the management, of trust property. (Exceptions are the Public Trustee, the Treasury Solicitor and the Official Custodian, the only individuals able to act as custodian trustees.) Where a custodian trustee is appointed to hold property of a charity, the administration of the charity is left in the hands of the charity trustees. The term custodian trustee was introduced by s.4 of the Public Trustee Act 1906. A custodian trustee is not a charity trustee. See also holding trustee which has a related but different meaning.
Please see our publication CC42
Yes, you can. While trustees cannot usually be paid for their services, this does not prevent trustees from providing a modest token of appreciation to a trustee who is retiring, and they may think it in the interests of good morale to do so.
Your charity's trustees are the people responsible under the charity's governing document for controlling the management and administration of your charity, regardless of what they are called. In the case of an unincorporated association (i.e. an association which isn't also a registered company) the executive or management committee are the charity's trustees.
Trustees cannot benefit from their position as trustees and one of the key principles of trusteeship is that it is voluntary. You cannot be paid unless this power is stated in the charity's governing document or unless we give you permission.
Indemnity insurance for trustees (which is sometimes known as "liability insurance") is personal insurance which protects (or indemnifies) trustees against the risk of personal liability arising from their breach of trust. This is not the same as the charity indemnifying itself by insuring against a loss to its funds resulting from the acts and defaults of the trustees.
A charity may provide indemnity insurance for its trustees if there is an express power to do so in the governing document. If there is no such power, trustees must apply to us for authority to buy this out of the funds of the charity.
Our publication CC49 explains when charity funds can be used to pay for trustee indemnity insurance either directly or by reimbursing the premiums and what trustees need to consider before purchasing it.