The Charities Act 2005 will significantly reform the field of charity law and will impact heavily on law and practice in the not-for-profit sector. the field of charities, this book will explain the new law succinctly and will address the practical implications of all the fundamental reforms including: the introduction of a new definition of charitable purposes, changes to the public benefit test, charity formation and the Charity Incorporated Organisation, payment and liability of charity trustees, the regulation of excepted and exempt charities, charity registration, the Charity Commission's functions and powers, mergers, the Charity Appeal Tribunal and the new fundraising regime. have been closely involved in the legislative process, it also provides a real insight into the thinking behind certain provisions. The book will also address the practical implications of allowing charities to undertake significant taxable trading if the Scrutiny Committee's recommendation in this regard is accepted by the Home Office. materials.

The new Charities Act 2006 signals a radical overhaul of the legislation affecting charities. Its far-reaching changes affect virtually all aspects of charities law, including: expansion of the four heads of charitable purpose to thirteen categories; an emphasis on public benefit, so that charities will have to demonstrate what they do that benefits the community; widened regulatory powers for the Charity Commission and a new Charity Tribunal which will have the power to revisit the Commission's decision-making; new rules on restructuring and charity mergers, including the protection of legacies on mergers; the option for charities to adopt a new corporate structure as 'Charitable Incorporated Organisation'; new rules regarding the remuneration of trustees and the power to spend capital; and, a new framework for the regulation of public charitable collections. Written by experts in this area, Charities Act 2006 will help you to keep up-to-date with the changes in the law and to understand their implications. The book also provides the consolidated text of the 1992, 1993 and 2006 Acts.

This Act is in four parts. The first part deals with the definition of charity and charitable purposes. The second part deals with the regulation of charities including: the establishment of the Charities Commission (the existing Commission has no legal existence as a body); the creation of a tribunal to hear appeals; registration of charities; and new powers for the Commission. Part three deals with fundraising and part four contains miscellaneous provisions including a requirement for a review of the operation of the Act within five years

This practical guide to the new Charities Act focuses on the impact of the Act and fully explains to charities and their advisers the effect of the changes. Packed with quality commentary, the book offers a practical and succinct treatment of the new Act and the impact of the regulations.

There is no clear legal basis for social investments and this lack of clarity extends into the accounting and reporting processes that underpin such investment. In this situation, social investment will always be the difficult option, discouraging and presenting serious barriers to even the highly committed. The Trustee Act 2000 should be amended to entitle trustees to consider the totality of the benefit an investment. An amendment should also be considered to draw attention to the difference between the responsibilities of charitable trusts and those of private trusts, in that charities need to further their charitable purposes rather than simply preserve capital. This review says the government should consider a legal power for charities with permanent endowments to consider placing them in mixed purpose investments, with a requirement to restore capital levels within a reasonable period. It also says the government should develop a standard social investment vehicle to allow funding from different sources to be invested, and maintained separately, in the same product. The Statement of Recommended Practice from the Charity Commission should be revised to facilitate reporting of social investments and professional accounting bodies should identify a standard system for valuing social investments. Charities should be able to apply to HM Revenue and Customs for prior clearance on tax treatment before making a social investment, and HMRC should, as the market matures, provide clear guidance on the different types of social investment. There should also be statutory and regulatory underpinning of social investment, and the Financial Services Authority should establish a specialist unit to deal with the challenges of social investment