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Charities Bill [HL]

My Lords, it is with some diffidence that I oppose the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson, because he puts the case strongly and well, and we all genuinely want to diminish the bureaucratic burden on smaller charities. My reason for not being convinced by his case is very simple. There is the issue of bureaucracy and regulation; there is the issue of probity of charities in the sector. I did not agree with the noble Lord when he said that there was no systemic risk. I do not know why he said that or on what basis. If you are talking about an income of £10,000 a year, that could mean a capital base of £200,000, which is significant money. In fact, there is more prospect of the very rare amount of fraud that takes place in the charity sector among small charities than among large charities. Assets of £200,000 are very significant. In my balance between probity and regulation, I think that I am more satisfied, or assuaged, by the £5,000 limit rather than the £10,000 limit. For that reason, I am not persuaded by what the noble Lord has said.