Institute of Fundraising welcomes draft Charity Bill
Howard Lake | 2 June 2004 | News
The Institute of Fundraising says that it welcomes the publication of the draft Charities Bill for England and Wales, with its proposed overhauling of charity and fundraising law.
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of the Institute of Fundraising, described the draft Charities Bill as “a real opportunity for the sector” and urged the Government to ensure that the draft Bill is passed into law in 2005, following proper consultation.
The Institute will be submitting its views on the detail of the Bill to the Joint Committee shortly and mr Boswell urge other fundraising organisations to do the same.
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The draft Bill includes a number of proposed changes to the way in which fundraising is carried out and regulated. These include proposals for a new licensing scheme for public collections, changes to accounting practices, and reserve powers to introduce regulation of fundraising if a self-regulatory scheme does not work.
Lindsay Boswell said: “The proposals for a self-regulatory scheme for fundraising that have been discussed in recent months sit alongside the measures announced in the Charities Bill. It is important that the fundraising sector ensures that such a scheme is successfully implemented to prevent the Home Secretary from implementing legislation in this area in the future.”
Andrew Watt, Head of Policy and Deputy Chief Executive, said: “The Public Collection proposals are practicable and sensible. Government have listened to the views of the sector and together a unified licensing system has been developed, which will make public collections regulations more consistent and clearer for the public to understand.”
He added that “some of the most influential changes proposed as part of the Charities Bill are those that relate to reports and accounts. An ability to use the Trustees’ report to put fundraising in context and to present a picture of the strategic importance of its funding role will enable all of us to communicate our activities more openly and transparently.”
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.