Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008

Grounds for refusing to issue a certificate

139.—(1) The grounds on which the Commission may refuse an application for a public collections certificate are—

(a) that the applicant has been convicted of a relevant offence;

(b) where the applicant is a person other than a charitable institution for whose benefit the collections are proposed to be conducted, that the Commission is not satisfied that the applicant is authorised (whether by any such institution or by any person acting on behalf of any such institution) to promote the collections;

(c) that it appears to the Commission that the applicant, in promoting any other collection authorised under this Chapter, failed to exercise the required due diligence;

(d) that the Commission is not satisfied that the applicant will exercise the required due diligence in promoting the proposed collections;

(e) that it appears to the Commission that the amount likely to be applied for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes in consequence of the proposed collections would be inadequate, having regard to the likely amount of the proceeds of the collections;

(f) that it appears to the Commission that the applicant or any other person would be likely to receive an amount by way of remuneration in connection with the collections that would be excessive, having regard to all the circumstances;

(g) that the applicant has failed to provide information—

(i) required for the purposes of the application for the certificate or a previous application, or

(ii) in response to a request under section 140(1);

(h) that it appears to the Commission that information so provided to it by the applicant is false or misleading in a material particular;

(i) that it appears to the Commission that the applicant or any person authorised by the applicant—

(i) has breached any conditions attached to a previous public collections certificate, or

(ii) has persistently breached any conditions attached to a permit issued under section 144;

(j) that it appears to the Commission that the applicant or any person authorised by the applicant has on any occasion breached any provision of regulations made under section 148(1)(b).

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)—

(a) a “relevant offence” is—

(i) an offence under section 5 of the 1916 Act;

(ii) an offence under the 1952 Act;

(iii) an offence under this Chapter;

(iv) an offence involving dishonesty; or

(v) an offence of a kind the commission of which would, in the opinion of the Commission, be likely to be facilitated by the issuing to the applicant of a public collections certificate; and

(b) the “required due diligence” is due diligence—

(i) to secure that persons authorised by the applicant to act as collectors for the purposes of the collection were (or will be) fit and proper persons;

(ii) to secure that such persons complied (or will comply) with the provisions of regulations under section 148(1)(b); or

(iii) to prevent badges or certificates of authority being obtained by persons other than those the applicant had so authorised.

(3) Where an application for a certificate is made by more than one person, any reference to the applicant in subsection (1) or (2) is to be construed as a reference to any of the applicants.

(4) Subject to subsections (5) and (6), the reference in subsection (2)(b)(iii) to badges or certificates of authority is a reference to badges or certificates of authority in a form prescribed by regulations under section 148(1)(b).

(5) Subsection (2)(b) applies to the conduct of the applicant (or any of the applicants) in relation to any public charitable collection authorised—

(a) under regulations made under section 5 of the 1916 Act (collection of money or sale of articles in a street or other public place), or

(b) under the 1952 Act (collection of money or other property by means of visits from house to house),

as it applies to the conduct of the applicant in relation to a collection authorised under this Chapter, but subject to the modifications set out in subsection (6).

(6) The modifications are—

(a) in the case of a collection authorised under regulations made under the 1916 Act—

(i) the reference in subsection (2)(b)(ii) to regulations under section 148(1)(b) is to be construed as a reference to the regulations under which the collection in question was authorised, and

(ii) the reference in subsection (2)(b)(iii) to badges or certificates of authority is to be construed as a reference to any written authority provided to a collector pursuant to those regulations; and

(b) in the case of a collection authorised under the 1952 Act—

(i) the reference in subsection (2)(b)(ii) to regulations under section 148(1)(b) is to be construed as a reference to regulations under section 4 of that Act, and

(ii) the reference in subsection (2)(b)(iii) to badges or certificates of authority is to be construed as a reference to badges or certificates of authority in a form prescribed by such regulations.

(7) In subsections (1)(c) and (5) a reference to a collection authorised under this Chapter is a reference to a public charitable collection that—

(a) is conducted in accordance with section 134 or 135 (as the case may be), or

(b) is an exempt collection by virtue of section 136.

(8) In this section—

“the 1916 Act” means the Police, Factories &c. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916 (c. 31); and

“the 1952 Act” means the House to House Collections Act (Northern Ireland) 1952 (c. 6).