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

As one of a small number of cross-government select committees, this Committee has gained a perspective on the state of Whitehall and its agencies which is not available to departmental select committees. Throughout the past five years, the recurring theme of their findings and recommendations reflects the importance of effective leadership in creating effective organisations. It is the positive or negative attitudes and behaviour in the people and the culture of an organisation which determines success or failure. Structures, processes and systems are important too, but preoccupation with these so often becomes a distraction from the real problems, which are about why people do not share information for the common good, collaborate effectively and trust one another. PASC took control of the process of selection of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) away from the Government altogether, so that for the first time Parliament has appointed its Ombudsman. They have also held many pre-appointment hearings for the Chairs of public bodies and were the first Select Committee to refuse to accept a government nomination for the chair of a public body. The Government was forced to re-run the selection for the post of Chair of the UK Statistics Authority under a new selection panel, and to propose a different candidate. They also hold hearings on PHSO's thematic reports, to interrogate and hold to account those who must respond to its recommendations. PASC has worked together effectively as a team despite political differences and the often controversial issues tackled

This book investigates and critically evaluates the concept of public benefit within charity law in the common law world. In the course of the study the book: provides a rich account of how the concept of public benefit has developed over time in charity law jurisprudence; deepens understanding of the aspects of public benefit that remain poorly understood even today; and suggests ways in which public benefit jurisprudence might develop in an orderly and principled way so as to better address some of the core concerns of charity law and the public policy objectives that lie behind it. The book includes contributions from world leading charity law experts and jurists. Each chapter reflects on a key aspect of public benefit jurisprudence in charity law. The topics have been chosen carefully to ensure coverage of most if not all of the large unresolved questions relating to public benefit in the common law world. Each chapter is accompanied by a comment, written by an academic expert or leading practitioner. The comments complement the chapters by critically engaging with those chapters and by offering different and thought-provoking perspectives on the subject matter of the chapters. The book will be of interest to academics working in law, philosophy, economics, sociology and political science. It will also provide a valuable resource for legal practitioners and judges, government officials, especially charity regulators, and in the not-for-profit sector itself.

The Committee supports the proposal to introduce a power for the Commission to issue a statutory warning to a charity as a useful tool that falls in between issuing guidance and the opening of an inquiry. The statutory warning process should include safeguards on the face of the Bill including limiting the circumstances in which a warning could be ......

This work provides an analytical and comparative analysis of the development of charity law, as well as providing a critical commentary on a number of contemporary changes within the charity law field across a range of common law jurisdictions. The book follows earlier studies which cover a similar, and traditional, jurisdictional spread, but which are now dated. It further considers in detail charity law issues within Hong Kong and Singapore, about which there has been historically more limited charity law discussion. The area is growing in terms of practical legal and academic interest.

Written in an enthusiastic and student-friendly style, 'Todd & Wilson's Textbook on Trusts & Equity' explains the basic principles and rules of trusts law in a clear and unintimidating way. The book delivers focused, intellectually stimulating content, and gives in-depth coverage of the key areas taught on the undergraduate course.

Charitable organisations occupy a central place in society across much of the world, accounting for billions of pounds in revenue. As society changes, so does the law which regulates nonprofit organisations. From independent schools to foodbanks, they occupy a broad policy space. Not immune to scandals, sometimes nonprofits are in the news for all the wrong reasons and so, when they are in the public eye, regulators must respond to high profile cases. In this book, a team of internationally recognised charity law experts offers a modern take on a fast-changing policy field. Through the concept of policy debates it moves the field forward, providing an important reference point for developing scholarship in charity law and policy. Each chapter explores a policy debate, setting out the fault-lines in play, and often offering proposals for reform. Two important themes are explored in this edited collection. First, there is a policy tension in charity law between its largely conservative history and the need to keep up-to-date with social change. This pressure is felt acutely along key fault-lines, such as the extent to which a body of law which developed before the advent of legislated human rights is able to adapt to a rights-based world, and the extent to which independent schools – historically so closely linked with charity – might deserve their generous tax-breaks. The second theme explores the law from the perspective of a good-faith regulator, concerned to maximise the usefulness of charities. From the need to reform old organisations, to the need to ensure that charities enjoy the right amount of regulatory freedom in a world of payment-by-result contracts, the book critically charts the policy justifications for regulatory intervention, as well as the costs that such intervention might bring. Debates in Charity Law will be of interest to both academic researchers and students of the non-profit sector, looking to understand the links between law, social change and regulation. It will also help and guide nonprofit employees and volunteers, showing how their sector is shaped and moulded by the law.