Lawyers seek clarity on Charities Bill provisions

Lawyers have expressed concern that the government's new Charities Bill - published last week - contains unexpected additions and lacks clarity.

The Bill aims to redefine charities and the Charities Commission, as well as introduce a new appeals tribunal.

It will also seek to simplify mergers between charities, to create a new charitable corporate entity, and to give more security to trustees.

Moira Protani, head of the charity law group at City firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, said: 'There are obvious reservations about how a new requirement that some charities demonstrate that they operate for the public benefit will be interpreted, and by whom.'

Charities such as educational establishments - which are currently presumed to operate for the public benefit - would need to demonstrate this under the Bill's provisions.

She also had reservations about new powers enabling charities to spend their permanent endowments in certain circumstances.

Alison Paines, head of City firm Withers' charities department, said: 'There are some changes from what was expected.

For instance, it is not clear how the new charitable head "for the advancement of citizenship and community" will be interpreted.'

She said this was one of several elements in the Bill that appears to have a possible political implication, adding that a potential problem with the new requirement to prove public benefit is 'not so much what has been said in the Bill, but how it will be construed in practice, bearing in mind, for example, what politicians have recently said about charities' role as deliverers of public services'.

Jeremy Fleming