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The Draft Protection of Charities Bill would significantly amend existing charity law on a wide range of matters, including the Charity Commission’s powers to issue official warnings to charities, to wind up charities and move their assets to other charities, and to disqualify trustees with certain criminal records or where tre is other evidence of their misconduct or mismanagement.

After taking oral and written evidence on the Draft Bill over the winter, the Joint Committee of MPs and Lords released its report today, comprising over 100 pages and numerous recommendations.

The charity Directory of Social Change (DSC) submitted evidence to the Committee. Commenting on its report today, DSC’s Director of Policy and Research Jay Kennedy said "it acknowledges many concerns about the Draft Bill raised by DSC and other charities, but sadly offers relatively little to ameliorate those concerns."

Unexpectedly, the Committee’s report reintroduces proposals that were originally mooted at the consultation phase, but were excluded from the Draft Bill due to widespread opposition. For example, it reconsiders the proposal to give the Charity Commission power to prevent people who have been disqualified as trustees from ‘holding another position of power in a charity’ as an employee. Kennedy argues "this power would circumvent the normal regulatory relationship between the Charity Commission and charity trustee boards, getting the regulator involved in who can work for a charity, which is not their job. It’s a step too far and raises all kinds of problematic questions about human rights and employment law."

Kennedy went on to say: "some of the Committee’s recommendations offer marginal improvements, but several clauses in the Draft Bill would still give the Charity Commission very subjective powers to disqualify virtually anybody from charity trusteeship. The vast expansion of power is simply not warranted by the evidence of a problem, and could easily be abused. The mechanisms for redress and external oversight of the Commission’s decisions also remain inadequate."

He concluded: "the Commission already has very strong powers to take enforcement action where there is wrongdoing or mismanagement in charities. Some of the current proposals, particularly around the disqualification of trustees, could threaten fundamental civil liberties and the spirit of voluntarism. We must remember that it’s relatively easy to cede powers to regulators and government agencies, but normally quite difficult to win those powers back."

 [ENDS]

Notes to editors:

  • Founded in 1974, the Directory of Social Change (DSC) is a national charity which supports an independent voluntary sector through campaigning, training and publications. DSC is the largest supplier of information and training to the voluntary sector, and its work helps tens of thousands of organisations every year achieve their aims. Learn more at www.dsc.org.uk

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