---

Charities Bill [Lords]

I will shortly, but I wish to amble a little further before doing so. I am worried about the inconsistency of ministerial statements about this matter. If a law or a provision in it that has given no trouble is suddenly removed, Ministers’ words become important. On Second Reading, the Under-Secretary said that removing the presumption of public benefit would ““raise the bar”” on religious, educational and poverty relief charities. [Interruption.] I see that he disputes that. Let me therefore give him the Hansard reference, which I happen coincidentally to have with me. It is 26 June 2006, volume 448, column 97. However, in Committee, he maintained that"““religious charities and organisations provide public benefit, and I see no reason why that should change.””—[Official Report, Standing Committee A, 4 July 2006; c. 58.]" Either the change raises the bar or it does not. Most of us fear that its purpose is to raise the bar. I have yet to hear a single argument from anyone against maintaining the status quo. It works. It has never been proved to cause any difficulty. There must therefore be a reason for removing it. If one removes a presumption in favour of religious charities, the inevitable implication is that one is trying to make life harder for them.