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Brabners put on workshop to help Charities
3/01/2007

CHARITIES trying to tackle the most sweeping changes to charity law for more than 400 years are to be given a helping hand.

Last month, the Government passed the most significant piece of charity legislation for four centuries ñ forcing all charities to prove they benefit the public.

Now, the Charity Commission has promised to use other changes brought in by the Act to cut charitie`s burden of red tape by a quarter in the next four years.

That, together with company law reforms which also affect charities, has resulted in a bewildering array of changes for charity trustees.

Now, charity law specialists in the region have teamed up with the Government`s regulatory body to hold a workshop to help charities address the issues.

Lawyers from Brabners Chaffe Street LLP`s Charities and Social Enterprise Unit are being joined by the Charity Commission to put on a workshop on the recent changes to law and regulations for those involved in running charities.

`The changes coming through at the moment affect all charities, large and small,î explained Louise Platt from the Unit.

`While many of the changes are very welcome, giving organisations greater independence from the Charity Commission, charities need to be aware of their obligations to avoid running into difficulties.

`What we hope to do is show trustees and executives what the changes mean for their organization and what they need to do to address them.î

The most significant change ushered in by the Charities Act 2006 concerns the definition of the word charity.

Gone is the centuries-old presumption that anything promoting education, religion or relief of poverty is for the public benefit ñ and therefore worthy of charitable status.

Instead, the Charity Commission has been tasked with determining which organisations merit charitable status on a case by case basis.

Once the Act comes into force charities will be able to merge or buy trustee indemnity insurance without seeking prior permission from the Commission, which this week announced further measures to cut through charitie`s red tape burden by 2010.

`This is the first time Government has looked at the definition of the word charity for 400 years,î added Louise.

`While the Commission isn`t expected to begin de-registering organisations, every charity will have to undergo a test and prove that what they do is for the benefit of a sufficient sector of the general public. The Commission will work with those organisations which cannot, to introduce changes that ensure they provide public benefit.î

`For almost all charities, this will be the first time they have had to prove their public benefit.î

As well as the Charities Act, the workshop will also address how company law reforms affect trustees and executives of all types of charity, whether large or small.

Among the speakers will be Brabners Chaffe Street LLP`s lawyers Lawrence Holden, David Maples, Jane Lake and Louise Platt from the firm`s Charity and Social Enterprise Unit, and the Charity Commission`s Neil McKenzie.

The workshop will take place on Thursday 18th January 2007 from 10am at the Raddisson Hotel, Liverpool, and costs £25.00. For more information, or to book a place at the event, please contact Sharon Simons at Brabners Chaffe Street on 0151 600 3022.


For further information contact David Maples at Brabners Chaffe Street on 0151 600 3108

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