The Regulator for Charities in England and Wales
(September, 2004)
The Charity Commission’s classification system for charities uses definitions which are broader in scope than ‘independent school’, and thus does not enable us to produce a precise figure or list. Independent schools are classified under Education/Training and Children/Young People. There are 47,884 registered charities with that classification which includes independent schools, but also many other types of charity.
As an indication of the numbers, the Independent Schools Council (ISC) estimates there are around 2,400 independent schools in the UK. Around half are members of the ISC who say that 1,061 (83%) of their members are charitable although not all of these schools will be registered in England or Wales. Non members of the ISC are believed to be less likely to be charitable because most are privately owned
Currently Eton and Winchester are classified as exempt charities, and therefore not registered by the Commission. The draft Charities Bill proposes ending this exemption. All other English or Welsh charitable independent schools are required to register, unless connected to another exempt charity.
For the same reason as above we are unable to produce a precise figure or a list. Searches of classifications including Medical/Health/Sickness produce thousands of charities that will include hospitals and clinics but also many other types of charity.
Regulation of private hospitals and clinics is generally the responsibility of the Healthcare Commission.
We do not have detailed information on this although a recent Commission survey of charities registered in 1995 (The survey was conducted by post and was sent to all charities registered in 1995. We had a response rate of 35% (1,622 charities). One of the questions asked charities to identify sources of income and the list of options included “fees/sales”. The results were published in “Milestones: Key Events in the Life of a Charity” (December 2003)) indicated that 15% of those charities saw “fees/sales” as their main source of income and a further 10% listed it as one source. More generally many different types of charity in various parts of the sector will receive money by way of fees or charges. For example, many service providing charities will charge for their services. Other examples include:
Again the Commission does not have detailed information on this.
The NCVO Almanac 2004 analyses the sources and types on income received by charities. One category of income in its analysis is Earned Income (“Earned Income from the sales of goods and services (although this may not be at market value), including the gross income of trading subsidiaries.” The NCVO acknowledges that the distinction between this and voluntary income is open to interpretation and that it is difficult to classify income from trading subsidiaries). The NCVO’s analysis does not cover the whole charitable sector (It uses figures for 2001/2 for the UK but limited to a definition of “general charities” that excludes, for example, universities and some charitable schools, private health care providers and charities primarily for the promotion of religion) but indicates that almost 43% of charities’ income is Earned Income of which around 17% comes from individuals and 18% comes from the public sector.
As above the Commission does not have this information and the Inland Revenue does not break down its figures for tax relief by type of charity.
There are three categories of school under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (the SSFA). The governing bodies of both Foundation Schools and Voluntary Schools are declared to be charities by the SSFA. At the moment they cannot register because they are exempt. But the draft Bill proposes to remove this exemption and require them to register, subject to a £100,000 income threshold. The SSFA also provides that the governing bodies of Community schools, the largest category, are not charities.
In looking at state hospitals the key is the position of the NHS bodies that operate them. These bodies are not regarded as charities due to the degree of control that can be exercised by the Secretary of State.
Yes, 11 City Academies are registered (This is based on a search for registered charities with “City Academy” in their name or objects) and a list is available on request.
The charitable status of City Academies depends on their own objects and constitution rather than the nature of the sponsors. There are charitable City Academies that are sponsored by commercial concerns, for example.
The making of a profit is not in itself a barrier to charitable status.
It is well established that charities may charge for their services and facilities. Charges may be set at a level which more than covers the costs of those services if this "profit " element is applied in furtherance of the charity's purposes and is justified in the best long term interests of the charity and its beneficiaries. For example a charity may need to set up reserves for the maintenance or refurbishment of property, to service loans raised to acquire property or facilities or generally to develop and improve the quality of its facilities and services in the future.
The making of a profit would be a bar to charitable status where:
Charity Commission
16 June 2004