Charities Act 1992

69 Refusal of permits

(1) A local authority may refuse to issue a permit to conduct a public charitable collection on any of the following grounds, namely—

(a) that it appears to them that the collection would cause undue inconvenience to members of the public by reason of—

(i) the day of the week or date on which,

(ii) the time at which,

(iii) the frequency with which, or

(iv) the locality or localities in which,

it is proposed to be conducted;

(b) that the collection is proposed to be conducted on a day on which another public charitable collection is already authorised (whether under section 68 or otherwise) to be conducted in the authority’s area, or on the day falling immediately before, or immediately after, any such day;

(c) that it appears to them that the amount likely to be applied for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes in consequence of the collection would be inadequate, having regard to the likely amount of the proceeds of the collection;

(d) that it appears to them that the applicant or any other person would be likely to receive an excessive amount by way of remuneration in connection with the collection;

(e) that the applicant has been convicted—

(i) of an offence under section 5 of the 1916 Act, under the 1939 Act, under section 119 of the 1982 Act or regulations made under it, or under this Part or regulations made under section 73 below, or

(ii) of any offence involving dishonesty or of a kind the commission of which would in their opinion be likely to be facilitated by the issuing to him of a permit under section 68 above;

(f) where the applicant is a person other than a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution for whose benefit the collection is proposed to be conducted, that they are not satisfied that the applicant is authorised (whether by any such institution or by any person acting on behalf of any such institution) to promote the collection; or

(g) that it appears to them that the applicant, in promoting any other collection authorised under this Part or under section 119 of the 1982 Act, failed to exercise due diligence—

(i) to secure that persons authorised by him to act as collectors for the purposes of the collection were fit and proper persons;

(ii) to secure that such persons complied with the provisions of regulations under section 73 below or (as the case may be) section 119 of the 1982 Act; or

(iii) to prevent badges or certificates of authority being obtained by persons other than those he had so authorised.

(2) A local authority shall not, however, refuse to issue such a permit on the ground mentioned in subsection (1)(b) if it appears to them—

(a) that the collection would be conducted only in one location, which is on land to which members of the public would have access only by virtue of the express or implied permission of the occupier of the land; and

(b) that the occupier of the land consents to the collection being conducted there;

and for this purpose “the occupier”, in relation to unoccupied land, means the person entitled to occupy it.

(3) In subsection (1)—

(a) in the case of a collection in relation to which there is more than one applicant, any reference to the applicant shall be construed as a reference to any of the applicants; and

(b) (subject to subsection (4)) the reference in paragraph (g)(iii) to badges or certificates of authority is a reference to badges or certificates of authority in a form prescribed by regulations under section 73 below or (as the case may be) under section 119 of the 1982 Act.

(4) Subsection (1)(g) applies to the conduct of the applicant (or any of the applicants) in relation to any public charitable collection authorised under regulations made under section 5 of the 1916 Act (collection of money or sale of articles in a street or other public place), or authorised under the 1939 Act (collection of money or other property by means of visits from house to house), as it applies to his conduct in relation to a collection authorised under this Part, subject to the following modifications, namely—

(a) in the case of a collection authorised under regulations made under the 1916 Act—

(i) the reference in sub-paragraph (ii) to regulations under section 73 below shall be construed as a reference to the regulations under which the collection in question was authorised, and

(ii) the reference in sub-paragraph (iii) to badges or certificates of authority shall be construed as a reference to any written authority provided to a collector pursuant to those regulations; and

(b) in the case of a collection authorised under the 1939 Act—

(i) the reference in sub-paragraph (ii) to regulations under section 73 below shall be construed as a reference to regulations under section 4 of that Act, and

(ii) the reference in sub-paragraph (iii) to badges or certificates of authority shall be construed as a reference to badges or certificates of authority in a form prescribed by such regulations.

(5) In this section—

• “the 1916 Act” means the [1916 c. 31.] Police, Factories, &c. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916;

• “the 1939 Act” means the [1939 c. 44.] House to House Collections Act 1939; and

• “the 1982 Act” means the [1982 c. 45.] Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.