The ‘New’ Public Benefit Requirement : Making Sense of Charity Law?

"This book examines the 'public benefit requirement' under the Charities Act 2006, which provides that a charity's purposes must be for the public benefit, and that 'public benefit' shall be construed in accordance with existing case law and not presumed. It examines guidance published in 2008 and 2013 by the Charity This book examines the 'public benefit requirement' under the Charities Act 2006, which provides that a charity's purposes must be for the public benefit, and that 'public benefit' shall be construed in accordance with existing case law and not presumed. It examines guidance published in 2008 and 2013 by the Charity Commission and measures its accuracy against principles extrapolated from case law, with a focus on fee-charging charities, and independent schools in particular. It also considers the implementation of the Charity Commission's public benefit assessments of independent schools during 2008/2009. The book offers a comparative study of the law relating to public benefit in Scotland and presents an analysis of the decision of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery) in proceedings brought by the Independent Schools Council and Attorney General in 2011."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Foreword Acknowledgements Contents 1. Introduction 2. Charitable Status and Public Benefit: The Law I. Introduction II. The 2006 Act III. Charitable Status and the Meaning of ‘Public Benefit’ in Case Law 3. Charitable Status and Public Benefit: The Commission I. Introduction II. Questions of Privilege, Changing Law and Public Benefit Duties III. The Commission’s Interpretation of Public Benefit IV. Once a Charity, Always a Charity? 4. Poverty and the Charging of Fees: The Law I. Introduction II. The Relevance of Poverty in Charity Law III. A Charity May Charge for Its Services, Provided It is Non-Profit Making 5. Poverty and the Charging of Fees: The Commission I. Introduction II. The Commission’s Legal Analysis III. The Commission’s Guidance 6. The Commission’s Implementation of the Public Benefit Requirement I. Introduction II. The Assessment of Public Benefit III. The Reports IV. Results of the Assessments 7. Charitable Status in Scotland I. Introduction II. The Charity Test III. The Scottish Register and the Rolling Review IV. Charitable Status in the Two Jurisdictions 8. The Guidance is Challenged: The Upper Tribunal I. Introduction II. The Decision in Summary III. The Tribunal’s Analysis of Authorities IV. The Four Elements of the Ruling V. Application of the Four Elements: Charitable Status VI. The Theoretical Basis of the Decision 9. More Recent Developments I. Introduction II. Lord Hodgson’s Review III. The Report of the Public Administration Select Committee IV. The Government’s Response V. The Commission’s Revised 2013 Guidance and Legal Analysis VI. Developments in Other Jurisdictions 10. Conclusions Bibliography Index This book examines the 'public benefit requirement', which provides that a charity's purposes must be for the public benefit. This requirement was given statutory force by the Charities Act 2006, which also provided that 'public benefit' is to be construed in accordance with existing case law and not presumed. The author examines guidance published by the Charity Commission in 2008 and 2013 and measures its accuracy against principles extrapolated from case law, with a focus on fee-charging charities, and independent schools in particular. She also considers the implementation of the Charity Commission's public benefit assessments of independent schools during 2008–10. The book offers a comparative study of the law relating to public benefit in Scotland and presents an analysis of the decision of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery) in proceedings brought by the Independent Schools Council and Attorney General in 2011. It also considers subsequent reviews of the 2006 Act by Lord Hodgson and the Public Administration Select Committee and the Government's response to those reviews in September 2013. The fact that the law automatically bestows certain privileges on charities, including tax exemptions, means that the charitable status of fee-paying schools has proved particularly contentious and was described by Lord Campbell-Savours as making 'an absolute nonsense' of charity law. Here, the author asks whether the public benefit requirement, as enacted and interpreted, has succeeded in bringing any sense to our law of charity in recent years. "This book examines the 'public benefit requirement' under the Charities Act 2006, which provides that a charity's purposes must be for the public benefit, and that 'public benefit' shall be construed in accordance with existing case law and not presumed. It examines guidance published in 2008 and 2013 by the Charity This book examines the 'public benefit requirement' under the Charities Act 2006, which provides that a charity's purposes must be for the public benefit, and that 'public benefit' shall be construed in accordance with existing case law and not presumed. It examines guidance published in 2008 and 2013 by the Charity Commission and measures its accuracy against principles extrapolated from case law, with a focus on fee-charging charities, and independent schools in particular. It also considers the implementation of the Charity Commission's public benefit assessments of independent schools during 2008/2009. The book offers a comparative study of the law relating to public benefit in Scotland and presents an analysis of the decision of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery) in proceedings brought by the Independent Schools Council and Attorney General in 2011"--Résumé de l'éditeur