Written question asked by Jacqui Lait (Conservative) on Monday, 25 October 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 16 November 2004. It was answered by Fiona Mactaggart (Labour) on Tuesday, 16 November 2004 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, why service non-public funds are no longer to be excepted charities in the draft Charities Bill.

Answer: Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why service non-public funds are no longer to be excepted charities in the draft Charities Bill. [194453] Fiona Mactaggart: The Charity Commission's register was created in the 1960s to provide public information about the existence and status of individual charities. Some classes of charity, including service charitable funds, were excepted from the registration requirement because either the relevant information about them was provided by some other means or there was no public interest in them. Excepted charities continued to be regulated by the Commission even if they were not registered with it. The Government believes that, to enhance the accountability of charities and to promote public confidence in the regulatory arrangements, all charities that are regulated by the Charity Commission should appear on its public register. The Government have included a provision in the draft Charities Bill to achieve this by ending the system of exceptions from registration. The Government have set the initial income threshold for registration at £100,000 per annum in order to provide for a manageable process of registration over time. There is a public interest in service charitable funds. They benefit from the tax reliefs available to charities generally, and they can make use of the Gift Aid scheme which allows them to receive donations in a tax efficient way.

Secondary information