OG48 A1 - AN OVERVIEW

The Charity Commission for England and Wales

The Regulator for Charities in England and Wales

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OPERATIONAL GUIDANCE STUDENTS' UNIONS AN OVERVIEW OG 48 A1 - 15 March 2000

The purpose of the OG 48 series is to explain:
the significance of the Education Act 1994 for students' unions (see OGs 48 B1 and 48 C2);
how to determine the charitable status of students unions and in particular which unions will be exempt from registration (see OG 48 B2);
what activities a charitable students' union may and may not take part in (see OG 48 B3).


Divisional responsibility
For action:	Charity Support Division Registration Division

Contents
1. The law 2. Charitable status 3. Exempt status
Index to further related information


The law	Refer to a lawyer	Refer to an accountant


	1. The law
	Part II of the Education Act 1994 (the 1994 Act) sets out the duties of the governing bodies of certain universities and colleges towards their students' unions. It requires them to:
	take steps to ensure that students' unions are properly administered; and
	bring certain matters to the attention of the students.
	(See OG 48 C2 for a summary of these.)
	S.20 provides a definition of a students' union for the purposes of the Act. Broadly it is:
	a body representing or promoting the general interests of students at a university or college specified in the Act whose principal purposes must include:
		promoting the general interests of its members as students; or
		representing them in matters relating to the government of the university or college.
		(See OG 48 B1 for more detail.)
	It is emphasized that this defines a students' union for the purposes of the 1994 Act. An organisation which does not conform to the 1994 Act definition may still be a students' union for other purposes and may or may not be charitable - see section 2 below.

	2. Charitable status
	A students' union set up and regulated according to ss.20 and 22 of the 1994 Act may be accepted as charitable except in exceptional circumstances (see OG 48 B2) and in most cases will be exempt from any duty to register (see OG 48 B2).
	A students' union set up and regulated in some other way may be charitable but a number of factors will need to be taken into account in determining its status and whether or not it needs to register - in particular:
	the objects of the union itself;
	the status (and if it is not a charity the objects) of its associated college; and
	the level of control exercised by the college.
	(See OG 48 B2 section 4.2)

	3. Exempt status
	Most students' unions are exempt charities by virtue of the fact that their associated college or university is exempt. See OG 48 B2 section 4.1.

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