Charities Act 2011

353 Minor definitions E+W

(1) In this Act, except in so far as the context otherwise requires—

• “company” means a company registered under the Companies Act 2006 in England and Wales or Scotland;

• “the court” means—

  (a)

  the High Court, and

  (b)

  within the limits of its jurisdiction, any other court in England and Wales having a jurisdiction in respect of charities concurrent (within any limit of area or amount) with that of the High Court,

  and includes any judge or officer of the court exercising the jurisdiction of the court;

• “ecclesiastical charity” has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act 1894;

• “financial year”—

  (a)

  in relation to a charitable company, is to be construed in accordance with section 390 of the Companies Act 2006, and

  (b)

  in relation to any other charity, is to be construed in accordance with regulations made by virtue of section 132(3);

  but this is subject to any provision of regulations made by virtue of section 142(3) (financial years of subsidiary undertakings);

• “gross income”, in relation to a charity, means its gross recorded income from all sources including special trusts;

• “independent examiner”, in relation to a charity, means such a person as is mentioned in section 145(1)(a);

• “members”, in relation to a charity with a body of members distinct from the charity trustees, means any of those members;

• F1 ...

• “trusts”—

  (a)

  in relation to a charity, means the provisions establishing it as a charity and regulating its purposes and administration, whether those provisions take effect by way of trust or not, and

  (b)

  in relation to other institutions has a corresponding meaning.

(2) In this Act, except in so far as the context otherwise requires, “document” includes information recorded in any form, and, in relation to information recorded otherwise than in legible form—

(a) any reference to its production is to be read as a reference to the provision of a copy of it in legible form, and

(b) any reference to the provision of a copy of, or extract from, it is accordingly to be read as a reference to the provision of a copy of, or extract from, it in legible form.

[F2 (3) For the purposes of this Act, property is “permanent endowment” if it is subject to a restriction on being expended which distinguishes between income and capital.]

[F3 (4) In this Act, “special trust” means property which—

(a) is held and administered by or on behalf of a charity for any special purposes of the charity, and

(b) is so held and administered on separate trusts relating only to that property.

But a special trust does not, by itself, constitute a charity for the purposes of Part 8 (charity accounts, reports and returns).]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 353(1) omitted (9.11.2016) by virtue of The Transfer of Functions (Elections, Referendums, Third Sector and Information) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/997), art. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 25(4) (with art. 12)

F2 S. 353(3) substituted (14.6.2023) by Charities Act 2022 (c. 6), ss. 9, 41(4); S.I. 2023/643, Sch. para. 1 (with regs. 4, 5)

F3 S. 353(4) inserted (14.6.2023) by Charities Act 2022 (c. 6), ss. 14(2), 41(4); S.I. 2023/643, Sch. para. 6 (with reg. 5)