2011 No. 1727

Charities, England And Wales

The Charities Act 2006 (Principal Regulators of Exempt Charities) (No. 2) Regulations 2011

Made

Laid before Parliament

Coming into force

The Minister for the Cabinet Office makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 10B(4) of the Charities Act 19931 and sections 13(4)(b) and 74(2) of the Charities Act 20062:

Citation and interpretation1

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Charities Act 2006 (Principal Regulators of Exempt Charities) (No. 2) Regulations 2011.

2

In these Regulations—

  • “specified institution” means a qualifying Academy proprietor (within the meaning of section 12(2) of the Academies Act 20103) or a sixth form college corporation (within the meaning of section 90(1) of the Further and Higher Education Act 19924).

Commencement2

These Regulations come into force on 1st August 2011.

Appointment of principal regulator of exempt charities connected to sixth form colleges and academies3

The Secretary of State for Education is prescribed as the principal regulator of any exempt charity which is administered by or on behalf of a specified institution and is established for the general purposes of, or for any special purpose of or in connection with, that institution.

Definition of “responsible person”4

In its application to the Secretary of State for Education as principal regulator of an exempt charity by virtue of these Regulations, section 10A of the Charities Act 1993 has effect as if, for the definition of “responsible person” in subsection (7), there were substituted—

  • “responsible person” means a person who is or was—

    1. a

      the Secretary of State for Education;

    2. b

      acting on behalf of the Secretary for State for Education, or

    3. c

      a member of a committee established by the Secretary of State for Education.

Nick HurdParliamentary SecretaryCabinet Office
EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations prescribe the principal regulator of certain exempt charities. Exempt charities are those institutions listed in Schedule 2 to the Charities Act 1993. The principal regulator of an exempt charity must do all he reasonably can to meet the compliance objective specified in section 13 of the Charities Act 2006 in relation to that charity. The compliance objective is to promote compliance by the charity trustees with their legal obligations in exercising control and management of the administration of the charity.

With effect from 1st August 2011, academies and sixth form colleges are included in Schedule 2 (paragraph (ca) (academies) is inserted by the Academies Act 2010, section 12(4), and paragraph (cd) (sixth form colleges) is inserted by the Charities Act 2006 (Changes in Exempt Charities) Order 2011, S.I. 2011/1725). The Secretary of State for Education is prescribed as the principal regulator of academies and sixth form colleges (by the Charities Act 2006 (Principal Regulators of Exempt Charities) Regulations 2011, S.I. 2011/1726). By virtue of paragraph (w) of Schedule 2, charities that are connected to academies and sixth form colleges are also exempt. These Regulations prescribe the Secretary of State for Education as the principal regulator of such charities.

Sections 10 and 10A of the 1993 Act, as applied by section 10B, regulate the disclosure of information by and to principal regulators. Specific rules apply under these provisions to the disclosure of Revenue and Customs information. A “responsible person” who discloses information contrary to those rules may be found guilty of an offence. These Regulations specify the definition of “responsible person” that applies to the principal regulator prescribed for charities connected to academies and sixth form colleges.

A full impact assessment of the effect that these regulations will have on the exempt charities that are affected is published with the Explanatory Memorandum alongside these regulations on www.legislation.gov.uk.