Charity Commission promises “open and objective” consultation on charging models

The Charity Commission has stressed there is no predetermined position on charging charities for their regulation after local infrastructure body Navca claimed a consultation on charging proposals would “prove phoney”.

Charity Commission chair William Shawcross again raised the prospect of the sector meeting some of the costs of its regulation at the commission’s annual meeting on Monday, and some potential charging models were put before attendees.

In a statement yesterday Navca chief executive Neil Cleeveley said the association believes asking charities to contribute to the cost of regulation is wrong, and the public interest in charity regulation means it is not unreasonable for it to be paid for through general taxation.

It is “absurd” for the Government to give charities money through Gift Aid whilst clawing it back to fund the regulator, Navca said, and charging for regulation would give Treasury an ‘excuse’ to reduce funding further.

The costs of collecting the levies would incur substantial administrative costs for charities and the commission, Navca said.

Further, the association warned charging for regulation would discourage organisations from registering as a charities and encourage existing charities to de-register, which would run counter to the public interest as it would see more charitable organisations operating under the radar without the safeguards regulation provides.

Navca also questioned the fairness of the commission’s charging proposals, which suggested an annual charge much higher than the Companies House fee for filing annual returns.

Responding in an emailed statement, a commission spokesperson said that the public and and charities recognise that the charity sector needs a properly funded regulator in order to protect public trust and confidence in charities.

“Recent high profile issues have proved this,” the commission said. “We will be launching a consultation soon and want to encourage as many trustees and charities to participate as possible. Monday's meeting was another opportunity to talk through the issues. There is of course no predetermined position - the consultation will be open and objective.”