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CHARITIES ACT 2011
(2011 c 25)
| PART 1 | Meaning of āCharityā and āCharitable Purposeā |
| PART 2 | The Charity Commission and the Official Custodian for Charities |
| PART 3 | Exempt Charities and the Principal Regulator |
| PART 4 | Registration and Names of Charities |
| PART 5 | Information Powers |
| PART 6 | Cy-prĆØs Powers and Assistance and Supervision of Charities by Court and Commission |
| PART 7 | Charity Land |
| PART 9 | Charity Trustees, Trustees and Auditors etc |
| PART 10 | Charitable Companies etc |
| PART 13 | Unincorporated Charities |
| PART 17 | The Tribunal |
| PART 18 | Miscellaneous and Supplementary |
| SCHEDULE 1 | The Charity Commission |
| SCHEDULE 2 | The Official Custodian |
| SCHEDULE 3 | Exempt Charities |
Part 1 MEANING OF āCHARITYā AND āCHARITABLE PURPOSEā
Chapter 1 GENERAL CHARITY
1 MEANING OF āCHARITYā
(1) For the purposes of the law of England and Wales, ācharityā means an institution whichā
(a) is established for charitable purposes only, and
(b) falls to be subject to the control of the High Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction with respect to charities.
(2) The definition of ācharityā in subsection (1) does not apply for the purposes of an enactment if a different definition of that term applies for those purposes by virtue of that or any other enactment.
Charitable purpose
2 MEANING OF āCHARITABLE PURPOSEā
(1) For the purposes of the law of England and Wales, a charitable purpose is a purpose whichā
(a) falls within section 3(1), and
(b) is for the public benefit (see section 4).
(2) Any reference in any enactment or document (in whatever terms)ā
(a) to charitable purposes, or
(b) to institutions having purposes that are charitable under the law relating to charities in England and Wales,
is to be read in accordance with subsection (1).
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply where the context otherwise requires.
(4) This section is subject to section 11 (which makes special provision for Chapter 2 of this Part onwards).
3 DESCRIPTIONS OF PURPOSES
(1) A purpose falls within this subsection if it falls within any of the following descriptions of purposesā
(a) the prevention or relief of poverty;
(b) the advancement of education;
(c) the advancement of religion;
(d) the advancement of health or the saving of lives;
(e) the advancement of citizenship or community development;
(f) the advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science;
(g) the advancement of amateur sport;
(h) the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity;
(i) the advancement of environmental protection or improvement;
(j) the relief of those in need because of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage;
(k) the advancement of animal welfare;
(l) the promotion of the efficiency of the armed forces of the Crown or of the efficiency of the police, fire and rescue services or ambulance services;
(m) any other purposesā
| (i) | that are not within paragraphs (a) to (l) but are recognised as charitable purposes by virtue of section 5 (recreational and similar trusts, etc) or under the old law, |
| (ii) | that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to, or within the spirit of, any purposes falling within any of paragraphs (a) to (l) or sub-paragraph (i), or |
| (iii) | that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to, or within the spirit of, any purposes which have been recognised, under the law relating to charities in England and Wales, as falling within sub-paragraph (ii) or this sub-paragraph. |
(2) In subsection (1)ā
(a) in paragraph (c), āreligionā includesā
| (i) | a religion which involves belief in more than one god, and |
| (ii) | a religion which does not involve belief in a god, |
(b) in paragraph (d), āthe advancement of healthā includes the prevention or relief of sickness, disease or human suffering,
(c) paragraph (e) includesā
| (i) | rural or urban regeneration, and |
| (ii) | the promotion of civic responsibility, volunteering, the voluntary sector or the effectiveness or efficiency of charities, |
(d) in paragraph (g), āsportā means sports or games which promote health by involving physical or mental skill or exertion,
(e) paragraph (j) includes relief given by the provision of accommodation or care to the persons mentioned in that paragraph, and
(f) in paragraph (l), āfire and rescue servicesā means services provided by fire and rescue authorities under Part 2 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004.
(3) Where any of the terms used in any of paragraphs (a) to (l) of subsection (1), or in subsection (2), has a particular meaning under the law relating to charities in England and Wales, the term is to be taken as having the same meaning where it appears in that provision.
(4) In subsection (1) (m) (i), āthe old lawā means the law relating to charities in England and Wales as in force immediately before 1 April 2008.
4 THE PUBLIC BENEFIT REQUIREMENT
(1) In this Act āthe public benefit requirementā means the requirement in section 2(1)(b) that a purpose falling within section 3(1) must be for the public benefit if it is to be a charitable purpose.
(2) In determining whether the public benefit requirement is satisfied in relation to any purpose falling within section 3(1), it is not to be presumed that a purpose of a particular description is for the public benefit.
(3) In this Chapter any reference to the public benefit is a reference to the public benefit as that term is understood for the purposes of the law relating to charities in England and Wales.
(4) Subsection (3) is subject to subsection (2).
Recreational trusts and registered sports clubs
5 RECREATIONAL AND SIMILAR TRUSTS, ETC
(1) It is charitable (and is to be treated as always having been charitable) to provide, or assist in the provision of, facilities forā
(a) recreation, or
(b) other leisure-time occupation,
if the facilities are provided in the interests of social welfare.
(2) The requirement that the facilities are provided in the interests of social welfare cannot be satisfied if the basic conditions are not met.
(3) The basic conditions areā
(a) that the facilities are provided with the object of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities are primarily intended, and
(b) thatā
| (i) | those persons have need of the facilities because of their youth, age, infirmity or disability, poverty, or social and economic circumstances, or |
| (ii) | the facilities are to be available to members of the public at large or ... |
