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Charities Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 37:"Page 105, line 20, at end insert—"Accounting records 1A   (1)   The charity trustees— (a)   of a parent charity, or (b)   of any charity which is a subsidiary undertaking, must ensure that the accounting records kept in respect of the charity under section 41(1) of this Act not only comply with the requirements of that provision but also are such as to enable the charity trustees of the parent charity to ensure that, where any group accounts are prepared by them under paragraph 2(2), those accounts comply with the relevant requirements. (2)   If a parent charity has a subsidiary undertaking in relation to which the requirements of section 41(1) of this Act do not apply, the charity trustees of the parent charity must take reasonable steps to secure that the undertaking keeps such accounting records as to enable the trustees to ensure that, where any group accounts are prepared by them under paragraph 2(2), those accounts comply with the relevant requirements. (3)   In this paragraph ““the relevant requirements”” means the requirements of regulations under paragraph 2.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, this group of amendments introduces some refinements to the Bill’s existing provisions on group accounts. The amendments achieve three things. First, they will ensure that, where group accounts are required to be prepared, the accounting records of the charities involved are sufficient to allow the group accounting requirements to be met. Secondly, they will give the Home Secretary power to make regulations setting the income and asset thresholds above which the accounts of a charity group must be professionally audited. At present, the Bill prescribes specific income and asset thresholds—respectively at £500,000 and £2.8 million. Some concerns have been expressed about the relationship between the audit thresholds for group accounts and for single-entity accounts. The approach that this amendment adopts will allow us to give more thought to that relationship and to consult more widely on it. The noble Lord, Lord Hodgson, may have raised that point earlier. Thirdly, these amendments will ensure that, where a parent charity is required to have its own accounts audited and is required to prepare group accounts, the accounts of the group must also be audited. I beg to move.