Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2016-01-26
Topic: Mixed Topics
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 2—Disposal of assets— "The Charity Commission shall ensure that independent charities are not compelled to use or dispose of their assets in a way which is inconsistent with their charitable purposes." New clause 3—Power to make representations— "(1) A charity may undertake political campaigning or political activity in the context of supporting the delivery of its charitable purposes (2) A charity may campaign to ensure support for, or to oppose, a change in the law, policy or decisions of central government, local authorities or other public bodies." New clause 4—Power to hold hearings on fundraising regulation and charity activity— "(1) The Commission has the power to hold public hearings with representatives from charities, charity trusts and other relevant bodies on fundraising regulation and charity fundraising activities (2) Representatives appearing at the public hearings specified in subsection (1) are protected by legal professional privilege." This amendment requires the Charity Commission to hold annual hearings on fundraising regulation and the workings of charities and provides participants with the protection of legal professional privilege. New clause 5—The Charity Commission as primary guarantor of the regulatory system for fundraising— "(1) Section 69 of the Charities Act 2006 (Reserve power to control fund-raising by charitable institutions), which inserts section 64A into the Charities 1992 Act (Reserve power to control fund-raising by charitable institutions) is amended as follows (2) In subsection (1) for "Minister" substitute "Charity Commission" (3) After subsection (8) insert— "(9) The Charity Commission shall report annually to the Minister on the exercise of its powers under this section. (10) On reviewing the annual report or if the Secretary of State considers the Commission is not effectively exercising its function as guarantor of the regulatory system the Minister may himself exercise the powers under this section."" This amendment makes the Charity Commission the primary regulator of charities fundraising activities, requires the Charity Commission to report annually to the Cabinet Office on its regulation of charitable fundraising, and allows the Government to intervene in this regulation as a last resort. Amendment 9, in clause 1, page 1, line 12, at beginning insert "Subject to subsection (3)" Amendment 8, page 1, line 12, leave subsection (2) and insert— ‘(2) The Commission may issue a warning to a charity trustee, a trustee for a charity or a charity in any way it considers appropriate but may not publish a warning to a wider audience." Amendment 10, page 1, line 15, at end insert— ‘(2A) If the Commission decides to publish a warning under subsection (2) it must do so in a manner which does not identify the charity, or charity trustee, in relation to which the warning is issued." Amendment 11, page 1, line 16, after "give" insert "at least 14 days" Amendment 12, page 2, line 6, leave out subsection (b) and insert— "(b) such advice or guidance that the Commission considers may assist the charity to remedy the conduct which gave rise to the warning, as referred to in (a) above." Government amendment 2 Amendment (a), line 10 at end add— ‘( ) If the Commission publishes notice that a warning has been withdrawn under subsection (2), the notice must state the reasons for the withdrawal ( ) No record of a warning withdrawn by the Commission should be held on the Register of Charities." Government amendment 3 Amendment 1, in clause 9, page 10, line 2, at end insert— ‘(22) Before this section comes into force, the Secretary of State shall lay a report before Parliament on the impact of the extension of the disqualification framework on— (a) people with criminal records who are trustees of, or employed by, charities, and (b) charities which work with, or employ, ex-offenders (23) The report shall include, but not be limited to— (a) an assessment of the number of people employed by charities who will be affected by the extension of the disqualification framework to cover senior management positions, (b) an assessment of the number of people who are trustees of, or employed by, charities who will be affected by the extension of the list of specified offences for which people will be automatically disqualified from being a trustee of, or a senior manager in, a charity, (c) an assessment of the impact of the new disqualification framework on former offenders who are seeking, or intend to seek, employment in the charitable sector, including on their recruitment, retention, career prospects and long-term rehabilitation and resettlement, (d) an assessment of the impact of the new disqualification framework on former offenders who are currently employed in the charitable sector, including on their retention, career prospects and long-term rehabilitation and resettlement, (e) an assessment of the impact of the new disqualification framework on people with criminal records who are trustees or employees of charities which are partners in, or are contracted by, community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) and its impact on the successful running of those organisations, (f) an assessment of the effectiveness of the existing waiver process provided for under section 181 of the Charities Act 2011, (g) an assessment of the impact of the new disqualification framework on the number of applications for waivers to the Charity Commission, (h) a description of how the working group set up by the Charity Commission on the waiver process will be constituted, how it will be resourced, what timelines it will be working to, its working method and intended outputs, and how it will work in consultation with people with criminal records and charities that work with, or employ, ex-offenders, (i) a description of the criteria the Charity Commission will adopt in considering applications for waivers, and the weight it will attach to the views of the trustees of the charity or charities concerned, (j) a description of how the waiver process will operate in relation to prospective candidates for senior management positions in charities, including the timescales for decisions and mechanisms to ensure that ex- offenders do not suffer indirect discrimination as a consequence of delays in assessing applications for waivers while a competitive recruitment process is underway, (k) an assessment of the impact of the new disqualification framework on the resources provided by the Charity Commission to administer the waiver application process." This amendment would require the Secretary of State to lay before parliament a report on the impact of the extension of the disqualification framework on people with criminal records who are trustees of, or employed by, charities, and on charities which work with, or employ, ex-offenders before the section came into force. Amendment 13, in clause 10, page 10, line 7, after "person" insert "or persons" Government amendment 4 Amendment 14, page 10, line 35, leave out "(either generally or in relation to the charities or classes of charity specified or described in the order)" and insert ", as defined by the Commission in a specific document to be published after consultation and renewed" Amendment 15, page 11, line 33, after "conduct" insert "both relevant and serious" Government amendments 5 to 7.