Open letter from the Chair and Chief Executive

July / August 2009

Charity Commission’s public benefit assessments

You may have seen some media coverage recently regarding the Charity Commission’s public benefit assessments of twelve charities including some independent schools. Some of the coverage has been somewhat misleading, so we wanted to give our key stakeholders some information and the opportunity to ask any questions you may have. Mindful of our accountability to Parliament, we have also contacted all MPs and Peers in a similar vein.

Of course, the public benefit requirement for charities did not come from the Charity Commission – Parliament made a change to charity law through the Charities Act 2006. This change had the effect of requiring every charity to demonstrate that its purposes are for the public benefit. After hundreds of hours of debate, Parliament decided that the best way to help charities adapt to this new level playing field was through the independent charity regulator. Much of the recent media coverage has focused on the impact on independent schools. In fact this requirement applies to all charities and, in our initial assessments, along with five schools, we also included four religious charities and three charitable care homes.

The key point about the public benefit requirement is that, whilst it is based in charity law, it’s actually very close to what the public expect from charities. Many polls have shown that the public have a very straightforward view of what charity is all about, and that is providing for people in need. This is the primary role of the Charity Commission as a regulator – to maintain public trust and confidence in charity. The Charity Commission has a long history of making decisions independently, transparently and impartially, based on the legal framework within which we are required to operate. That is exactly what we are doing now.

If you have any queries, or if you would like to discuss how to raise awareness of the public benefit requirement amongst your contacts or membership, please do contact our Policy Guidance and Public Benefit Assessment team at publicbenefitassessment@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely