Charities Update

Hello. Welcome to this data or WEBINAR entitled Charities Update. First Topic Able to consider is a major donor Fundraising and prospect research in anticipation off the General Data Protection Regulation come into force in May 2018. The Institute of Fundraising has published Connecting People to Causes a Practical Guides to Fund Raising Research, which is a practical guide to the topic. Produced in partnership with charity sector advisers Bates, Wells, Braithwaite and also the fundraising consultancy MAWR Partnership. The guide is intended to help fund raisers understand the lawful basis for processing data and to ensure that fundraisers treat people fairly and lawfully when they conduct major donor fundraising and prospect research work. The guidance includes information on how charities continues publicly available information to help them better understand their donors on how fundraisers should provide privacy notices to donors on on how charities should undertake legitimate interest balancing exercises. In addition to that particular piece of guidance, the Institute of Fundraising on the fund raising regulator have additionally release joint gardens on the General Data Protection Regulation. That guidance provides an overview for fund raisers and those in smaller organization in six bite size guides focusing on the practical application of the law to real life scenarios. The guides look at different fundraising methods and identify ways in which personal data is likely to be used. In each case, the guides also include links to more detailed guidance on information. Guns itself is based on questions which charities have themselves asked in relation to the new regulation. The guidance has also been reviewed and co blanched by the office off the Information Commissioner. Secondly, I want to look at rates relief schemes now. Since the changes to non domestic I business rates as a result of which non domestic rates are payable in full on empty commercial property, which remains on occupied for more than three months, a number of charities have become involved in rates relief schemes. This is because where the rate will occupy is a charity. There is a mandatory 80% relief if the property is used wholly or mainly for charity purposes. Local authorities also have the discretion to forget to forego collection of the remaining 20% by means of a discretionary discount, the basic gist of various of great relief schemes. It's the commercial landlords will let vacant buildings to charities to take advantage of the relief, sometimes with or without an accompanying donation to charity. However, in the number of reported cases, the relevant charities were making only minimal if any use of the property. The Charity Commission has previously warned charities in gardens to the charitable sector published in December 2000 and 11 to take particular care before entering into such arrangements on the authority, which I mentioned in the first bullet point here, which is re ST Benedicts Land Trust. A very recent decision of the upper tribunal indicates some of the difficulties which can arise on indeed indicates the degree of caution on did, indeed the degree of critical care that charities may need to take in relation to rates. Relief on did indeed commercial buildings generally in this particular instance, a charity which are sure refer to his H T, which was associated with the ST Benedicts Land Trust. Although even the upper tribunal noted that from the evidence the exact nature of that connection was, shall we say opaque? To put it mildly, Maturity Age T had approached a landowner with a view to taking a lease of an empty commercial property for the purposes off charity. The least did not proceed. It appeared that HTS agent and the load then that the land owner subsequently and fraudulently executed a license document which purported to confer a right of occupation off the property on H t ht was entered on the rating list as occupier and brains demands were issued to it at the property because it never actually received those demands because it was never actually in occupation off that property a liability, although was subsequently also made against a HT. The current up shots of which is that subject to any further appeal HT will have to be wound up now. The application by ST Benedicts Land Trust to the upper tribunal, which was some sort of attempt. Teoh review the original valuation officers Decision Teoh determine HD as the rate herbal occupy waas misconceived on a number of grounds as indeed to the upper tribunal made clear, giving short shrift to three application by the same Benedicts Land Trust. Nonetheless, the decision is illustrative off the problems which can arise in relation to enter properties and the care which charities need to take in relation to those who act on their behalf only just in relation to empty properties, of course, but on a much wider basis. Looking at the second bullet point on this side that is converting charities Teoh, a charitable incorporated organization I just wanted to raise by way of a brief mention the fact that by a series of stage commencement dates running for the first of January 2018 to the first of May 2000 and 18 it is now possible to apply to the Charity Commission to convert a charitable company into a chance for incorporated organization where the annual income of that organization does not exceed £100,000. Moving on, then to the trustee Disqualification rules on the 15th of January 2018 regulations were made specifically under the provisions off the Charities Protection and Social Investment Act 2016 which were designed to expand the scope of the trustee automatic qualification rules more specifically under Section nine of the 2016 Act, the rules are now extended to senior manager positions with effect from the first of August 2018. As from 1st February 2018 any charity trustee or senior manager will become disqualified. Under the new rules, ANDI will be able to apply it to the commission for a waiver of disqualification so as to allow the individual in question to make an orderly withdrawal from the charity. The charity Commission has issued guidance which is available online, on which is included within the further reading which accompanies the notes to this webinar in relation to both individuals and charities in terms of the specifics of the new rules on what charities and individuals will need to do to prepare for them the arrangements in relation to the broadening of the rules, including new online form which will enable a charity trustee all the holder of a restricted senior management position in a charity who will become disqualified under the new rules to apply to the regulator for the waiver which I've described. The commission has reiterated its recommendation that applications should ideally be bait by the first of June 2018. So is to give it sufficient time in which to make a decision. A link to the online waiver application form has been included in the commission's guidance for individuals on the new rules and the commission has also published a checklist explaining what needs to be included in such an application. The commission will not accept paper applications or an application that has not been made by the relevant individual or an adviser on their behalf. A charity cannot therefore making application on individuals behalf, although an applicant will be asked for details of the charity trustees views on the application that has been made regulator will also reject any application that is incomplete or are clear or which has not been signed by the applicant. Sony to the last bullet point on this slide. The UK charity regulators that is the Charity Commission, the office of the Scottish charity Regulator on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, have issued a joint regulate early alert to charities advising them to use bank accounts in the regulated financial sector in order safely to receive hold on move charity phones. This applies particularly to those charities who move funds internationally, the alert states, but regulators expect all charities to have a bank account in their own name where regulated banking services are available. But on what used the alert walls that it will be difficult for charity trustees to show that they have discharged their legal duty in relation to the protection of charity films. That being said, the alert goes on to say the regulators will take into a consideration exceptional or particular circumstances, such as operating in a war zone or other area where regulated banking facilities are available. Where a charity uses cash or other methods to transfer on move funds, The charity trustees must be able to show that this is a reasonable decision in the circumstances that the funds have and can be accounted for adequately protected. Bearing in mind the higher risks which were involved, charity trustees are expected to report any problems that arise with the use or movement to charity funds to the relevant charity regulator. We'll just say brief word about unclaimed gift aid. Ah recently published research commissioned by H M Revenue and Customs has revealed the extent which charities are missing out on unclaimed if day in the region off £600 million per year. Charities have been encouraged to provide information about, if about gift aid, eligibility criteria at each and every opportunity by clarifying while UK taxpayer is and that my on that being one is essential to gift aid eligibility and also to provide information about the benefit of gift aid at the point of donation. It appears that this is by far and away the single largest cause of the loss of gift aid revenue to charities. I simply not making relevant information available on indeed just asking donors at the point of sale as it were, whether or not they wish to make use off gift aid. On the other hand, the same research, also found of £179 million is being claimed erroneously by charities and individual taxpayers who don't understand the requirements in relation to gift day. Turning to the second bullet point on this line on the tax system in relation to charities, the Charity Turns Commission has launched a consultation to gather views on possible reforms to the tax treatment charities. The last comprehensive government review of charity taxation on reliefs took place over 20 years ago. Tax relief for charities is estimated to be worth £3.77 billion a year, which includes business rates, relief, gift aid and V. A. T. Relief reliefs in relation to individuals are estimated to be worth just short of £1.5 billion here. The aim of the commission is to ensure that the tax system and the relief switch it offers are still operating in a way which serves the maximum public benefit. Call for evidence in relation to the consultation closes on the sixth of July 2000 and 18 turning now to the last bullet point on the slide, which is a recent decision off the high court in relation to Revert and the authorities Ritz and Thomas and Oxfordshire County Council. A decision from earlier this year 2018 in which the high court was required to consider when a pair of sale could be exercised in circumstances as would avoid Revert er under the school Syed's Act 18 40 watt. Now the 18 41 act is one of a number of statutes by which, from roughly the middle of the 19th century, parliament sought to encourage individuals to give land for charitable and or benevolent purposes, notably education and religion, by allowing the land in question to be donated for such a purpose, but then to revert to the original owner or their heirs. If the land suits to be used with that permanently or for a specified period of time for the purpose for which it had originally Bean donated. Now the facts of Brits and Thomas themselves, whether in 1914 and again in 1928 a Mr Robert Fleming had conveyed certain land under the 18 41 act to the local authority for use as part of a school by Section two of the 18 41 act title to that land would revert to him or his success is entitled if Who the land so granted or any part of their off ceases to be used for the purposes in this act mentioned in a about 2000 and eight or roughly some 10 years at least prior to the current proceedings, the defendant Local Education Authority, which had assumed the responsibilities off the schooling question, had implemented a scheme under which first a new school was built on land adjacent to the existing school. On that new school had been built with money borrowed by the local authority from third party lenders. Once the new school was complete, the old school was closed on all of its activities were transferred to the new school and thirdly, the site of the old school, which included in very large measure all of the land conveyed by Mr Fleming back in 1914 and 1928 was sold off by the Council for Development on the proceeds of sale were used to pay off the loan, which the local authority had taken out to build. The new school. I think become aware of these events that the Clement the claimants who were some of the heirs of Mr Fleming, alleged that first, a notional riverton occurred when the school ceased to operate from its original site. And secondly, the consequence of Section one of the River Tour of Sites Act 1987 was that the defendant held the proceeds of sale of the land originally conveyed by Mr Fleming for then in the sum of approximately £1.25 million. The local authority had of course, already repaid that money to the lenders who funded the construction of the new school, and it didn't have the £1.25 million in order to repay to the claimants in order to avoid the conclusion that river tha had occurred on that the claimants were therefore entitled to the money which have been generated by the sale of the land originally donated by Mr Fleming. The local authorities sought to rely all Section 14 of the school site site 18 41 which provides, and I apologize for the slightly wordy terms of the section as follows when any land or building shall have bean or shall be given or acquired under the provisions off this act, all shall be held in trust for the purposes off this act on where it shall be deemed advisable to sell or exchange the same for any other more convenient or eligible site. It shall be lawful for the trustees in whom the said land or buildings shall be vested to sell or exchange the said land or building or part there off for other land or building suitable to the purposes off their trust. Aunt to receive all the exchange any sum of money by way of effecting on equality of exchange and to apply the money arising from such sale or given on such exchange in the purchase of another site or in the improvement of other premises used or to be used for the purposes off such trust. However, as the claimants pointed out, the potential obstacle to this argument was the sequence of events by which the local authority defended had in fact implemented its scheme. You will recall, of course, that it is it. In this instance, the new site had been developed on occupied as a school before the old site have been sold. Richard Spearmon QC, sitting as a judge of the High Court, noted that none of the decided cases appeared to go to have considered the inter relationship between the two sections of 18 41 act with which he was concerned, namely Sections two and 14 now. He attributed that fat to the circumstance that all of the cases which he was invited to consider involved schools which in fact had permanently closed with the. After reviewing the terms of Section two and Section 14 he reached the following conclusion. In my view, although a sale or exchange of one piece of property for another may typically involve a transaction in which title in the first property is conveyed before or at the same time as title in the second property is acquired. This is not necessarily the case and the same applies to the concept of applying money arising from the sale of one piece of property in the purchase or in the improvement of another. I do not consider that the use of these words requires Section 14 to be read as limiting the statutory power of sale or exchange so that it can only lawfully be exercised in circumstances where the original trust property is sold or exchanged before or at the same time as the replacement property is purchased, all monies are expended on improving it. It followed, of course, from that that the claimants were not entitled to any part of the proceeds sale which have been realised on the sale of the old school on which had been applied to discharge the funding which have been taken out in order to provide monies for the establishment of the new school. A fortunate and no doubt a happy result for the local authority that concludes this webinar a lot, therefore remains is for me to think