Finance Act 2002

Application and criteria for accreditation

4 (1) Applications for accreditation as a community development finance institution must be made to the Secretary of State in such form and manner as he may specify.

(2) The Secretary of State shall accredit a body if, and only if, he is satisfied—

(a) that the body’s principal objective is to provide (directly or indirectly)—

(i) finance, or

(ii) finance and access to business advice,

for enterprises for disadvantaged communities, and

(b) that the body satisfies such other criteria as may be specified in regulations made by the Treasury.

(3) For the purposes of this paragraph “enterprises for disadvantaged communities” include—

(a) enterprises located in disadvantaged areas, and

(b) enterprises owned or operated by, or designed to serve, members of disadvantaged groups.

(4) The criteria mentioned in paragraph (b) of sub-paragraph (2) may include criteria relating to the enterprises to which the body provides or proposes to provide finance or access to business advice.

(5) Regulations under that paragraph may—

(a) make the provision mentioned in that paragraph by reference to any material published by, or on behalf of, the Secretary of State (whether before or after the coming into force of this paragraph), and

(b) make different provision for different cases or circumstances or in relation to different areas.

(6) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (5)(b), those regulations may, in particular, make different provision in the case of bodies whose principal objective in providing finance as mentioned in sub-paragraph (2)(a) is to invest directly in enterprises that use the money raised for the purposes of the business of the enterprise in cases where—

(a) that business does not include the provision of finance for other enterprises, or

(b) if it includes any such provision, the nature and extent of that provision satisfies such conditions as the Treasury may, by regulations, prescribe.

(7) Where the Secretary of State accredits a body of the kind mentioned in sub-paragraph (6), he shall specify in the accreditation that the body is accredited as a retail community development finance institution.