# Charity Commission launches consultation on public benefit

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2007/03/07/charity-commission-launches-consultation-public-benefit/
- Published: 2007-03-07T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

The Charity Commission has launched a consultation on the principles of public benefit
to seek the sector’s views on draft guidance that paves the way for a new public
benefit requirement for all charities.
The new 2006 Charities Act now requires all
charities – including education, religious groups or those relieving poverty – to
show they are set up for the public benefit and the Commission has responsibility
for raising awareness about this and for conducting public benefit checks on charities.

There are four key principles which are:

*There must be an identifable benefit

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*Benefit must be to the public, or a justifiable section of the public

*People on low incomes must be able to benefit

*Any private benefit must be incidental.

For example, a private hospital caring for patients who would otherwise be treated
by the NHS would need to show a greater degree of public benefit. A fee-charging
school could show public benefit by opening its sports facilities to the local community.

The 52-page document on the Charity Commission’s website says that charities can
charge for their services, but that should charges be high enough to effectively
exclude people on low incomes from benefiting, this would be likely to affect their
public benefit status.

Chair of the Commission Dame Suzi Leather said: The issue of public benefit is at
the heart of the implied covenant between charities and society: in return for having
purposes which are charitable and provide public benefit, chariteis may enjoy the
benefits of charitable status.

The Commission is also publishing Citizens’ Standards, which are not a legal requirement,
but come from the views of members of the public who were asked how they felt charities
benefited the public.

The consultation document is downloadable from the Commission’s website and the 
consultation closes on 6 June. Beyond this date the Commission will carry out further
consultations with specific types of charity. It aims to publish a summary of the
responses to the consultation on its website within three months of the closing 
date, and to issue the final guidance as a new publication – Charities and Public
Benefit – later this year.

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