Charities Act 2006

69 Reserve power to control fund-raising by charitable institutions

After section 64 of the 1992 Act insert—

“64A Reserve power to control fund-raising by charitable institutions

(1) The Minister may make such regulations as appear to him to be necessary or desirable for or in connection with regulating charity fund-raising.

(2) In this section “charity fund-raising” means activities which are carried on by—

(a) charitable institutions,

(b) persons managing charitable institutions, or

(c) persons or companies connected with such institutions,

and involve soliciting or otherwise procuring funds for the benefit of such institutions or companies connected with them, or for general charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes.

But “activities” does not include primary purpose trading.

(3) Regulations under this section may, in particular, impose a good practice requirement on the persons managing charitable institutions in circumstances where—

(a) those institutions,

(b) the persons managing them, or

(c) persons or companies connected with such institutions,

are engaged in charity fund-raising.

(4) A “good practice requirement” is a requirement to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the fund-raising is carried out in such a way that—

(a) it does not unreasonably intrude on the privacy of those from whom funds are being solicited or procured;

(b) it does not involve the making of unreasonably persistent approaches to persons to donate funds;

(c) it does not result in undue pressure being placed on persons to donate funds;

(d) it does not involve the making of any false or misleading representation about any of the matters mentioned in subsection (5).

(5) The matters are—

(a) the extent or urgency of any need for funds on the part of any charitable institution or company connected with such an institution;

(b) any use to which funds donated in response to the fund-raising are to be put by such an institution or company;

(c) the activities, achievements or finances of such an institution or company.

(6) Regulations under this section may provide that a person who persistently fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any specified requirement of the regulations is to be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

(7) For the purposes of this section—

(a) “funds” means money or other property;

(b) “general charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes” means charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes other than those associated with one or more particular institutions;

(c) the persons “managing” a charitable institution are the charity trustees or other persons having the general control and management of the administration of the institution; and

(d) a person is “connected” with a charitable institution if he is an employee or agent of—

(i) the institution,

(ii) the persons managing it, or

(iii) a company connected with it,

or he is a volunteer acting on behalf of the institution or such a company.

(8) In this section “primary purpose trading”, in relation to a charitable institution, means any trade carried on by the institution or a company connected with it where—

(a) the trade is carried on in the course of the actual carrying out of a primary purpose of the institution; or

(b) the work in connection with the trade is mainly carried out by beneficiaries of the institution.”