The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008

Annual Reports: qualifying parent charities

41.—(1) This regulation applies to an annual report prepared in accordance with section 45(1) of the 1993 Act by the charity trustees of a qualifying parent charity.

(2) The report on the activities of such a parent charity and its subsidiary undertakings, during the year, which is required to be contained in the annual report prepared under section 45 of the 1993 Act in respect of each financial year of the charity must—

(a) specify the financial year to which it relates;

(b) be a review of the significant activities undertaken by the charity during the relevant financial year to further its charitable purposes for the public benefit or to generate resources to be used to further its purposes including details of—

(i) the aims and objectives which the charity trustees have set for the parent charity and its subsidiary undertakings in that year;

(ii) the strategies adopted and the significant activities undertaken, in order to achieve those aims and objectives;

(iii) the achievements of the parent charity and its subsidiary undertakings during the year, measured by reference to the aims and objectives which have been set,

(iv) any significant contribution of volunteers to these activities; and

(v) the principal sources of income of the parent charity and of its subsidiary undertakings;

(c) contain a statement as to whether the charity trustees have—

(i) given consideration to the major risks to which the parent charity and its subsidiary undertakings are exposed; and

(ii) satisfied themselves that systems or procedures are established in order to manage those risks;

(d) where any fund of the parent charity was in deficit at the beginning of the financial year in question, contain particulars of the steps taken by the charity trustees to eliminate that deficit;

(e) where the total of capital and reserves in any of the parent charity’s subsidiary undertakings was materially in deficit at the beginning of the financial year, contain particulars of the steps taken by the relevant undertaking or undertakings to eliminate that deficit,

(f) contain a statement by the charity trustees as to whether they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the 2006 Act to have due regard to guidance published by the Commission; and

(g) be dated and be signed by one or more of the charity trustees, each of whom has been authorised to do so.

(3) Subject to paragraphs (4) to (6), the information relating to a qualifying parent charity, to its trustees and officers, and to its subsidiary undertakings, which is required to be contained in the annual report is—

(a) the name of the parent charity as it appears in the register of charities and any other name by which it makes itself known;

(b) the number assigned to the parent charity in the register and, in the case of a charitable company, the number with which it is registered as a company;

(c) the principal address of the parent charity and, in the case of a charitable company, the address of its registered office;

(d) the name of any person who is a charity trustee of the parent charity on the date when the authority referred to in paragraph (2)(g) is given, and, where any charity trustee on that date is a body corporate, the name of any person who is a director of the body corporate on that date;

(e) the name of any other person who has, at any time during the financial year in question, been a charity trustee of the parent charity;

(f) the name of any person who is a trustee for the parent charity on the date referred to in sub-paragraph (d);

(g) the name of any other person who has, at any time during the financial year in question, been a trustee for the parent charity;

(h) particulars, including the date if known, of any deed or other document containing provisions which regulate the purposes and administration of the parent charity;

(i) the name of any person or body of persons entitled by the trusts of the parent charity to appoint one or more new charity trustees, and a description of the method provided by those trusts for such appointment;

(j) a description of the policies and procedures (if any) which have been adopted by the charity trustees of the parent charity for the induction and training of charity trustees, and where no such policies have been adopted a statement to this effect;

(k) a description of the organisational structure of the parent charity and of its subsidiary undertakings;

(l) a summary description of the purposes of the parent charity;

(m) a description of the policies (if any) which have been adopted by the charity trustees of the parent charity for the selection of individuals and institutions who are to receive grants, or other forms of financial support, out of the assets of the charity;

(n) a statement regarding the performance during the financial year of—

(i) any investments belonging to the parent charity; and

(ii) any investments belonging to the parent charity’s subsidiary undertakings, where those investments are material to the group accounts;

(o) where—

(i) investments are owned by a qualifying parent charity or any of its subsidiary undertakings; and

(ii) those investments are material to the group accounts,

a description of the policies (if any) which have been adopted by the charity trustees, or as the case may be the subsidiary undertaking, for the selection, retention and realisation of investments, including the extent (if any) to which social, environmental or ethical considerations are taken into account;

(p) where the charity trustees have adopted polices for the purpose of determining the level of reserves which it is appropriate to maintain in order to meet effectively the needs designated by its trusts—

(i) a description of those policies including in particular whether account has been taken of any reserves held by its subsidiary undertakings in determining the appropriate level of reserves;

(ii) details of the amount and purpose of any material commitments and planned expenditure not provided for in the balance sheet which have been deducted from the assets in the unrestricted fund of the charity in calculating the amount of reserves;

(q) if the charity trustees have not adopted policies falling within sub-paragraph (p), a statement that no such policies have been adopted;

(r) a description of the aims and objectives which the charity trustees have set for the parent charity in the future, and of the activities contemplated in furtherance of those aims and objectives;

(s) a description of any assets held by the parent charity or by any charity trustee of, or trustee for, the charity, on behalf of another charity, and particulars of any special arrangements made with respect to the safe custody of such assets and their segregation from assets of the charity not so held and a description of the objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held.

(4) The Commission may, where it is satisfied that, in the case of a particular charity or class of charities, or in the case of a particular financial year of a charity or class of charities–

(a) the disclosure of the name of any person whose name is required by any of sub-paragraphs (d), (e), (f), (g) and (i) of paragraph (3) above to be contained in the annual report of a charity could lead to that person being placed in any personal danger, dispense with the requirement in any of those sub-paragraphs so far as it applies to the name of that person; or

(b) the disclosure of the principal address of the charity in accordance with paragraph (3)(c) above could lead to any such person being placed in any personal danger, dispense with that requirement.

(5) In the case of a charity having more than 50 charity trustees on the date referred to in paragraph (3)(d)—

(a) that sub-paragraph has effect as if for the words “name of any person who is a charity trustee of the charity” there were substituted the words “names of not less than 50 of the charity trustees of the charity, including any charity trustee who is also an officer of the charity”; and

(b) paragraph (3)(e) has effect as if, at the end of the sub-paragraph, there were inserted the words “other than the name of any charity trustee whose name has been excluded from the report in pursuance of sub-paragraph (d)”.

(6) In the case of a report prepared under section 46(5) of the 1993 Act (excepted charities which are not registered), paragraph (3) above shall have effect as if–

(a) in sub-paragraph (a) the words from “as it appears in the register of charities” to the end, and

(b) in sub-paragraph (b) the words “the number assigned to it in the register and,”,

were omitted.

(7) In this regulation, “subsidiary undertaking” does not include a subsidiary undertaking which is excluded from the group accounts in accordance with regulation 19.