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Charities Bill

I fully support what the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (David Lepper) said about chugging. While I cannot claim to have been a chugger, I have certainly been a shaker, and I am concerned that, according to my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner) I acted illegally. Having encouraged other shaking in Rochford and Southend, East, I hope that I did not fall foul of the Government and will not be arrested on my return to my constituency. Joking apart, my hon. Friend said that it is sometimes important to make a small difference. From the outset, may I say that I support the Bill, and welcome the changes to trusteeships that make it easier for people to contribute as trustees? However, following my intervention on the Minister, I am concerned that people with learning disabilities cannot contribute as trustees. Like a number of Members on both sides of the House, I offer my constituents, particularly organised groups, the opportunity to visit to the House of Commons and, a few weeks ago, I was pleased to receive a visit from the SHIELDS—supporting, helping, informing everyone with learning disabilities in Southend—parliament, which is a group of people with learning disabilities who have been directly elected as councillors to act as an advocacy group in Southend and, more widely, to represent the interests of people with learning disabilities. Last week, it adopted a constitution, but it was distressing for people who had been elected by their peer group to discover that they could not make a contribution as trustees. In fact, they were lumped into a single group with people with general mental incapacity. While those councillors have serious social problems, collectively they are a bright bunch and have a huge contribution to make. It is therefore deeply unfair that they should be thrown together with people who, under the Charities Act 1993, are convicted of offences including dishonesty and deception or who have become bankrupt. The SHIELDS parliament has got round the problem by using a provision in the constitution to appoint trustees. It states:"““The Trustees have added responsibilities to safeguard the charity in order to benefit the Learning Disabled population of Southend, and to further the objects of the charity by facilitating their legal and moral wishes.””" Critically, it continues:"““The wishes of the Learning Disabled population of Southend will be gathered by the Shields Parliament and communicated to the Trustees via elected parliamentary councillors.””" The SHIELDS councillors, who cannot act as trustees, have asked several members of the community, including me, to become trustees, and I should certainly like to do so, and urge people in Southend to support those directly elected representatives. It would be much better, however, if the councillors could be trustees themselves. The SHIELDS parliament and its facilitators have worked closely with the Charity Commission, so it is unacceptable that they should have had to resort to a rather cack-handed way round the problem, as mandating trustees to gather views via elected councillors is hardly the ideal solution. I therefore urge the Minister to take the opportunity offered in chapter 9 of the explanatory notes to table Government amendments or accept cross-party amendments to allow people with learning disabilities who can make a contribution to become trustees, particularly, but not exclusively, of charities that work with people with learning disabilities. I accept that a trustee organisation with a critical mass of people with learning disabilities is slightly more challenging from a legal perspective than general groupings, but both groupings are extremely important. Having made my main point, may I touch on other subjects? I am concerned about the removal of the presumption of public benefit, as it constitutes an attack on schools with charitable status. Members have talked about the direction of travel which, I believe, should encompass foundation hospitals, greater choice in education, and trust schools, and should lead us to the conclusion that more schools, not fewer, should have charitable status. I am concerned, too, about mega-charities that conduct large-scale operations. One cannot look through the appointments section of the big papers without finding jobs with attached salaries that, in some cases, are as large as that of the Deputy Prime Minister. I am concerned, not about the impact of professionalisation on charities’ output, but about that career path, which is detached from reality. Unlike the right hon. Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth (Alun Michael), who is no longer in the Chamber, I remain concerned about the involvement of charities in political and campaigning activities. I do not wish to mount a general attack on charities, but I am reluctant, or certainly less willing, to give money to organisations such as Oxfam that do good work in Africa, where I have worked, and Christian Aid, because they have been involved in political activities or things that I perceive as political activities. Guidance would create greater confidence in what the Minister described as the charities brand. I have raised a number of subjects, but the one on which I should like the Parliamentary Secretary to dwell is the question of trusteeships for people with learning disabilities—I would be more than happy to meet him with a delegation to discuss the issue. The SHIELDS parliament, which is a very good organisation, believes that it is unique—I suspect that there are other such organisations, but they have not been brought together—and it has made a good proposal. With the Minister’s help in the Bill, perhaps we can improve its representation.