The Regulator for Charities in England and Wales
(Version February 2008)
In the course of its work, the Charity Commission takes a wide range of decisions. Those decisions range from whether or not to register an organisation as a charity, through decisions made in the course of providing advice, guidance and support to charitable organisations in England and Wales, to decisions about how we deal with cases of suspected abuse or maladministration.
When we take decisions we take a lot of trouble to make sure that we get them right and that any decision is in the interests of the particular organisation involved. We do recognise, however, that from time to time a customer may consider that we have not taken the correct decision and this is where our procedures to review decisions come in. The aim of the Decision Review is to ensure that the Commission’s final decision is the right one, in the sense that it is a proper exercise of our powers and consistent with our statutory objectives . We also check that the reasons for our decisions have been adequately expressed.
The Decision Review procedures only become available when you have received a letter from a case officer which states that the letter sets out the decision. The review procedures are only for decisions made by the Commission and cannot be used to consider decisions made by charities.
The Decision Review process is a one stage process, and will usually be conducted within a maximum of 3 months. The process is managed by Legal Services and co-ordinated by the Decision Review and Charity Tribunal Team (the DRT team). The decision you receive following the decision review process is the Commission’s final decision. If you remain dissatisfied, the next step will usually be the Charity Tribunal.
This guidance sets out the basic framework within which we are prepared to review decisions. A more detailed explanation of our procedures is available in OG94 - Decision Review under the Publications & Guidance section of our website.
Broadly, any person or organisation who is able to show that:
If you are unhappy with a decision we have taken, you can ask us if we will review it. By “decision” we generally mean those decisions taken within our statutory powers. These include decisions to register charities, or to improve the efficiency of a charity, or to check an abuse.
Under section 89 of the Charities Act 1993, where an order was made by mistake, or due to misrepresentation, or was not otherwise in accordance with the Act, the order may be set aside. We also have power to vary or revoke an order by replacing it with another order. All the decisions listed in schedule 1C of the Charities Act 1993 (as inserted by schedule 4 of the Charities Act 2006 are eligible for Decision Review.
Decisions made under the Freedom of Information Act to withhold information from disclosure can also be reviewed using the Decision review procedure.
If your complaint is about the outcome of your case (ie a case-working judgement or decision that is not made under our statutory powers) we may be able to offer a formal outcome review.
We will accept requests for a Decision Review up to a maximum of 3 months after the original decision. The 3 months will be calculated from the date on which you receive written notification of the original decision. You will be deemed to have received written notification on the day after the letter enclosing the decision was sent or the same day if the decision was sent by email.
In exceptional circumstances and where we think it’s fair to do so, we will accept requests for a decision to be reconsidered outside the 3 month time limit. We would need to be told the reason for the delay and why it was considered that we should accept the request outside the time limit.
We will only be able to conduct a Decision Review if you supply us with:
Please note also that we will decline to carry out a Decision Review if we consider that:
Charity Commission Direct is the single point of contact for all enquiries and requests for services coming into the Commission. Please follow the link below for further information.
Charity Commission Direct (PDF 319KB)
You can make initial contact by telephone, but will need to follow this up by a formal request in writing within three months of the date of the letter containing our final decision if you wish to request us to carry out a review. Whilst you are not obliged to do so, you may find it helpful to ask us to conduct a review by using the form below.
You may complete this form on-line.
If you are not completing the form on-line, please print off the PDF version of the form and return to the appropriate postal address or fax number. We will regard a returned form by email, letter or fax as sufficient formal notification of your request for a review.
If you are not satisfied with the Commission’s final decision you may be able to appeal or make an application for review to the Charity Tribunal. Schedule 1C of the Charities Act 1993 sets out for each type of decision who is eligible to request an appeal or apply for a review .
The Charity Tribunal is part of the Tribunals Service, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. It is independent of the Charity Commission and provides an independent route of appeal for charities which have exhausted the Commission’s Decision Review process.
The Charity Tribunal can be contacted as follows:
Arnhem House
Tribunals Operational Support Centre
PO Box 6987
Leicester
LE1 6LR
Telephone: 0845 600 877
Fax: 0116 249 4253
Email