Charity Commission publishes update on public benefit work

8 July 2010

- Arts assessments published, work completed on schools

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator for charities in England and Wales, is today providing an update on its work in relation to charities demonstrating and reporting on the benefit they bring to the public, as set out in the Charities Act 2006.

The update relates to two areas of work;

The publication today of four assessments of arts charities
Completion of the work in connection to assessments into the public benefit of 12 charities conducted in 2009, including charities advancing religion, independent charitable schools and charitable care homes

The purpose of conducting assessments into the public benefit of a selection of charities is to provide real examples for the rest of the charity sector, to help in their awareness and understanding of public benefit, alongside the published guidance the Commission has already published. Independent research* shows that three quarters (76%) of charity trustees say that they know about the public benefit requirement and nearly a quarter of trustees (22%) who are aware of the requirement say their charity has revisited its aims as a result.

Arts charities

Today four reports into the public benefit of arts charities are published. The charities are:

· The Royal Opera House Covent Garden Ltd (registered charity no. 211775)
· The Young Concert Artists Trust (registered charity no. 326490)
· The Castle Players (registered charity no. 1036934)
· Gwent Ballet Theatre, known as the Independent Ballet Wales (registered charity no. 1000855)

The Commission found that all four charities that were assessed are being administered for public benefit. The full reports for the four charities can be found on the Commission’s website. The assessments help to demonstrate that the public benefit principles are flexible enough to apply to four very different arts charities in terms of profile, size and operation, yet clear enough to distinguish them from organisations which are not charities.

Independent charitable schools and charitable care homes

In July 2009, the Commission found that eight of the twelve charities assessed, including charities advancing religion, independent charitable schools and charitable care homes, were being administered for public benefit, and four were not. These were made up of two care homes and two independent schools. The four charities agreed to work on plans for how they intended to address the concerns raised.

All four charities have developed and submitted plans, each of which reflects the circumstances of the charity and the flexibility of approach available to charities in demonstrating public benefit. Summaries of these plans are published on the Commissions’ website today. All the charities have been given sufficient time to implement those plans, with up to five years where necessary.

The plans for the two schools (S. Anselm’s School Trust Limited (registered charity no. 527179) and Highfield Priory School Limited (registered charity no. 532262), used a mix of new or additional bursary assistance financed by fundraising, together with the educational benefits they provide in the local community.

Neither school plans to increase its fees as part of these changes. The Commission took into account the totality of benefits provided, including work with local communities and state schools as well as bursaries. It concluded that these charities had addressed the findings of the Commission’s public benefit assessments published in July 2009 and that the trustees are carrying out their duty to administer the two charities for public benefit.
The Commission has also agreed that the trustees of Penylan House, Jewish Retirement and Nursing Home (registered charity no. 243968) have addressed the original findings by developing a clear strategy for providing and publicising the assistance it offers to those who could not otherwise afford to use its services. The fourth charity, The Rest Bay Convalescent Hotel (registered charity no. 220744), faced some significant challenges and is continuing to work on its plan, having been given a four month extension to complete it.

Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Charity Commission said;
“Charities play a vital role in society, and showing how they benefit the public is an essential part of that. We have consistently said that most charities can demonstrate sufficiently how they benefit the public, and the arts charities, schools and care homes we have worked with have proved this. All the charities took a constructive and imaginative approach and I particularly want to recognise their hard work and goodwill.

“The arts charities have shown how they are accessible to a wide range of people, which confirms their uniqueness as charities. The plans that the schools and care homes have put in place underline very clearly that we take into account all the ways in which charities can fulfil their aims for the public benefit. We have every reason to be confident in their commitment to putting these plans into place.”

The Charity Commission now plans to review a small number of sports and recreation charities. This will complete its programme of public benefit assessments.

The summary plans and reports are available on the Commission's website - http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/RSS/Updates/Public_benefit_assessments.aspx

Notes:

* Independent research conducted by FDS International and published in December 2009

1. The Charities Act 2006 (which received Royal Assent in November 2006) gave the Charity Commission a new objective, ‘to promote awareness and understanding of the operation of the public benefit requirement’. The requirement to demonstrate and report on public benefit, as set out within the Act, was implemented in April 2008.

2. Prior to the Charities Act 2006, charities established to advance education or religion or to relieve poverty were presumed to have aims which are for the public benefit, and they were not required to demonstrate this further, unless there was evidence to the contrary. The Charities Act 2006 removed this presumption and all charities now have to demonstrate that their aims are for the public benefit.

3. The Charity Commission published its general guidance on public benefit for charities in January 2008, followed by four sets of supplementary guidance in December 2008. The Commission has also published a selection of fictitious example trustee reports, which aim to demonstrate how charities can effectively report on their public benefit. All guidance and examples are on the Charity Commission website.

4. Also published in July was the Commission’s Emerging Findings report, which identified key issues for all trustees in the initial assessments. This is available on the Commission’s website - http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Library/publicbenefit/pdfs/assessemerge.pdf

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