OPERATIONAL GUIDANCE

POOLING SCHEMES AND POOL CHARITIES

REGISTRATION OF POOL CHARITIES

OG 49 B5 - 26 October 2001

Divisional responsibility

For action:

Registration Division
NHS Charities Section

Contents

1. Legal position
2. Under what number should a pool charity be registered?

Meaning of expressions - list of Glossary terms used in this Guidance
Index to further related information

1. Legal position

It follows that, as a pool charity is a particular type of common investment fund, it is liable for registration unless the Scheme establishing it restricts participation to exempt charities. If a Scheme creates more than one pool charity, each of them needs to be registered.

2. Under what number should a pool charity be registered?

2.1 All participating registered charities registered under same number
2.2 Some participating charities registered separately
2.3 Some participating charities unregistered
2.4 HSBs

2.1 All participating registered charities registered under same number

If all the participating registered charities are registered under the same number, then the pool charity should also be registered under that number.

2.2 Some participating charities registered separately

If any of the participating charities is registered separately, then the pool charity should itself be registered separately under the name given to it by the pooling Scheme. (Where more than one pool charity is established by the pooling Scheme, both can be registered under the same number.)

2.3 Some participating charities unregistered

Where:

• a number of the participating charities are registered under the same number; and

• a number are unregistered charities,

the pool charity can be registered under the same number as the registered charities, provided that all the participating charities are accounted for by the same reporting charity. That is to say:

• either a suitable direction has been made under s.96 of the 1993 Act; or

• the trustees are satisfied that the unregistered charities are special trusts of one or other of the registered charities.

Usually, trustees who administer more than one charity and apply for a pooling Scheme, will wish to link those charities for both accounting and registration purposes, as this is administratively more convenient.

2.4 HSBs

We recommend that HSBs seek to register under an "umbrella arrangement" (see Glossary definition of reporting charity).

The pool charity would then be registered under the same number (that is, it would be linked to the "umbrella charity").

The following words and phrases are defined in the Glossary of Terms:

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1993 Act
CIF
exempt charity
HSB
linked charities
participating charities
pool charity
reporting charity
trustees
umbrella charity

Go to: Index to further related information