Part I Charities

Preliminary

1 Interpretation of Part I, etc

(1) In this Part—

• “the 1960 Act” means the [1960 c. 58.] Charities Act 1960;

• “financial year”—

  (a)

  in relation to a charity which is a company, shall be construed in accordance with section 223 of the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985; and

  (b)

  in relation to any other charity, shall be construed in accordance with regulations made by virtue of section 20(2);

• “gross income”, in relation to a charity, means its gross recorded income from all sources, including special trusts;

• “independent examiner”, in relation to a charity, means such a person as is mentioned in section 21(3)(a);

• “the official custodian” means the official custodian for charities;

• “the register” (unless the context otherwise requires) means the register of charities kept under section 4 of the 1960 Act, and “registered” shall be construed accordingly;

• “special trust” means property which is held and administered by or on behalf of a charity for any special purposes of the charity, and is so held and administered on separate trusts relating only to that property.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) below, sections 45 and 46 of the 1960 Act (interpretation) shall have effect for the purposes of this Part as they have effect for the purposes of that Act.

(3) A special trust shall not, by itself, constitute a charity for the purposes of sections 19 to 26.

(4) No vesting or transfer of any property in pursuance of any provision of this Part, or of any provision of the 1960 Act as amended by this Part, shall operate as a breach of a covenant or condition against alienation or give rise to a forfeiture.

Registration of charities

2 The register of charities

(1) Section 4 of the 1960 Act (the register of charities) shall be amended as follows.

(2) For subsection (1) there shall be substituted—

“(1) The Commissioners shall continue to keep a register of charities, which shall be kept by them in such manner as they think fit.”

(3) In subsection (2), after “so excepted” there shall be inserted “(other than one excepted by paragraph (a) of that subsection)”.

(4) After subsection (2) there shall be inserted—

“(2A) The register shall contain—

(a) the name of every registered charity; and

(b) such other particulars of, and such other information relating to, every such charity as the Commissioners think fit.”

(5) In subsection (4), for paragraph (c) there shall be substituted—

“(c) any charity which has neither—

(i) any permanent endowment, nor

(ii) the use or occupation of any land,

and whose income from all sources does not in aggregate amount to more than £1,000 a year;”.

(6) After subsection (7) there shall be inserted—

“(7A) Where any information contained in the register is not in documentary form, subsection (7) above shall be construed as requiring the information to be available for public inspection in legible form at all reasonable times.

(7B) If the Commissioners so determine, that subsection shall not apply to any particular information contained in the register and specified in their determination.”

(7) After subsection (8) there shall be inserted—

“(8A) If he thinks it expedient to do so—

(a) in consequence of changes in the value of money, or

(b) with a view to extending the scope of the exception provided for by subsection (4)(c) above,

the Secretary of State may by order amend subsection (4)(c) by substituting a different sum for the sum for the time being specified there.

(8B) Any such order shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.”

(8) Where an exempt charity is on the register immediately before the time when subsection (3) above comes into force, its registration shall cease to have effect at that time.

(9) Section 4 of the 1960 Act, as amended by this section, and with the omission of repealed provisions, is set out in Schedule 1 to this Act.

3 Status of registered charity (other than small charity) to appear on official publications etc

(1) This section applies to a registered charity if its gross income in its last financial year exceeded £5,000.

(2) Where this section applies to a registered charity, the fact that it is a registered charity shall be stated in English in legible characters—

(a) in all notices, advertisements and other documents issued by or on behalf of the charity and soliciting money or other property for the benefit of the charity;

(b) in all bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements, cheques and orders for money or goods purporting to be signed on behalf of the charity; and

(c) in all bills rendered by it and in all its invoices, receipts and letters of credit.

(3) Subsection (2)(a) has effect whether the solicitation is express or implied, and whether the money or other property is to be given for any consideration or not.

(4) If, in the case of a registered charity to which this section applies, any person issues or authorises the issue of any document falling within paragraph (a) or (c) of subsection (2) in which the fact that the charity is a registered charity is not stated as required by that subsection, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the third level on the standard scale.

(5) If, in the case of any such registered charity, any person signs any document falling within paragraph (b) of subsection (2) in which the fact that the charity is a registered charity is not stated as required by that subsection, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the third level on the standard scale.

(6) The Secretary of State may by order amend subsection (1) by substituting a different sum for the sum for the time being specified there.

Charity names

4 Power of Commissioners to require charity’s name to be changed

(1) Where this subsection applies to a charity, the Commissioners may give a direction requiring the name of the charity to be changed, within such period as is specified in the direction, to such other name as the charity trustees may determine with the approval of the Commissioners.

(2) Subsection (1) applies to a charity if—

(a) it is a registered charity and its name (“the registered name”)—

(i) is the same as, or

(ii) is in the opinion of the Commissioners too like,

the name, at the time when the registered name was entered in the register in respect of the charity, of any other charity (whether registered or not);

(b) the name of the charity is in the opinion of the Commissioners likely to mislead the public as to the true nature—

(i) of the purposes of the charity as set out in its trusts, or

(ii) of the activities which the charity carries on under its trusts in pursuit of those purposes;

(c) the name of the charity includes any word or expression for the time being specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State and the inclusion in its name of that word or expression is in the opinion of the Commissioners likely to mislead the public in any respect as to the status of the charity;

(d) the name of the charity is in the opinion of the Commissioners likely to give the impression that the charity is connected in some way with Her Majesty’s Government or any local authority, or with any other body of persons or any individual, when it is not so connected; or

(e) the name of the charity is in the opinion of the Commissioners offensive;

and in this subsection any reference to the name of a charity is, in relation to a registered charity, a reference to the name by which it is registered.

(3) Any direction given by virtue of subsection (2)(a) above must be given within 12 months of the time when the registered name was entered in the register in respect of the charity.

(4) Any direction given under this section with respect to a charity shall be given to the charity trustees; and on receiving any such direction the charity trustees shall give effect to it notwithstanding anything in the trusts of the charity.

(5) Where the name of any charity is changed under this section, then (without prejudice to section 4(6)(b) of the 1960 Act (notification of changes in particulars of registered charity)) it shall be the duty of the charity trustees forthwith to notify the Commissioners of the charity’s new name and of the date on which the change occurred.

(6) A change of name by a charity under this section does not affect any rights or obligations of the charity; and any legal proceedings that might have been continued or commenced by or against it in its former name may be continued or commenced by or against it in its new name.

(7) Section 26(3) of the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985 (minor variations in names to be disregarded) shall apply for the purposes of this section as if the reference to section 26(1)(c) of that Act were a reference to subsection (2)(a) above.

(8) Any reference in this section to the charity trustees of a charity shall, in relation to a charity which is a company, be read as a reference to the directors of the company.

(9) Nothing in this section applies to an exempt charity.

5 Effect of direction under s. 4 where charity is a company

(1) Where any direction is given under section 4 of this Act with respect to a charity which is a company, the direction shall be taken to require the name of the charity to be changed by resolution of the directors of the company.

(2) Section 380 of the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985 (registration etc. of resolutions and agreements) shall apply to any resolution passed by the directors in compliance with any such direction.

(3) Where the name of such a charity is changed in compliance with any such direction, the registrar of companies—

(a) shall (subject to section 26 of the Companies Act 1985 (prohibition on registration of certain names)) enter the new name on the register of companies in place of the former name, and

(b) shall issue a certificate of incorporation altered to meet the circumstances of the case;

and the change of name has effect from the date on which the altered certificate is issued.

Supervision and control by Commissioners

6 General power to institute inquiries

(1) Section 6 of the 1960 Act (general power to institute inquiries) shall be amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (3)—

(a) for the words from “may by order” to “require” there shall be substituted “, or a person appointed by them to conduct it, may direct”; and

(b) for paragraph (b) there shall be substituted—

“(b) to furnish copies of documents in his custody or under his control which relate to any matter in question at the inquiry, and to verify any such copies by statutory declaration;

(c) to attend at a specified time and place and give evidence or produce any such documents.”

(3) In subsection (5), for “an order or precept under paragraph (b)” there shall be substituted “a direction under paragraph (c)”.

(4) Subsection (6) (exemption for person claiming to hold property adversely to a charity) shall be omitted.

(5) For subsection (7) there shall be substituted—

“(7) Where an inquiry has been held under this section, the Commissioners may either—

(a) cause the report of the person conducting the inquiry, or such other statement of the results of the inquiry as they think fit, to be printed and published, or

(b) publish any such report or statement in some other way which is calculated in their opinion to bring it to the attention of persons who may wish to make representations to them about the action to be taken.”

(6) Subsection (9) (which is superseded by section 54(2) below) shall be omitted.

7 Power of Commissioners to obtain information and documents

(1) Section 7 of the 1960 Act (power to call for documents and search records) shall be amended as follows.

(2) For subsection (1) there shall be substituted—

“(1) The Commissioners may by order—

(a) require any person to furnish them with any information in his possession which relates to any charity and is relevant to the discharge of their functions or of the functions of the official custodian for charities;

(b) require any person who has in his custody or under his control any document which relates to any charity and is relevant to the discharge of their functions or of the functions of the official custodian for charities—

(i) to furnish them with a copy of or extract from the document, or

(ii) (unless the document forms part of the records or other documents of a court or of a public or local authority) to transmit the document itself to them for their inspection.”

(3) Subsection (4) (exemption for person claiming to hold property adversely to a charity) shall be omitted.

(4) At the end of the section there shall be added—

“(6) The rights conferred by subsection (2) above shall, in relation to information recorded otherwise than in legible form, include the right to require the information to be made available in legible form for inspection or for a copy or extract to be made of or from it.”

8 Power to act for protection of charities

(1) Section 20 of the 1960 Act (power to act for protection of charities) shall be amended as follows.

(2) For subsection (1) there shall be substituted—

“(1) Where, at any time after they have instituted an inquiry under section 6 of this Act with respect to any charity, the Commissioners are satisfied—

(a) that there is or has been any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity; or

(b) that it is necessary or desirable to act for the purpose of protecting the property of the charity or securing a proper application for the purposes of the charity of that property or of property coming to the charity;

the Commissioners may of their own motion do one or more of the following things, namely—

(i) by order suspend any trustee, charity trustee, officer, agent or employee of the charity from the exercise of his office or employment pending consideration being given to his removal (whether under this section or otherwise);

(ii) by order appoint such number of additional charity trustees as they consider necessary for the proper administration of the charity;

(iii) by order vest any property held by or in trust for the charity in the official custodian for charities, or require the persons in whom any such property is vested to transfer it to him, or appoint any person to transfer any such property to him;

(iv) order any person who holds any property on behalf of the charity, or of any trustee for it, not to part with the property without the approval of the Commissioners;

(v) order any debtor of the charity not to make any payment in or towards the discharge of his liability to the charity without the approval of the Commissioners;

(vi) by order restrict (notwithstanding anything in the trusts of the charity) the transactions which may be entered into, or the nature or amount of the payments which may be made, in the administration of the charity without the approval of the Commissioners;

(vii) by order appoint (in accordance with section 20A of this Act) a receiver and manager in respect of the property and affairs of the charity.

(1A) Where, at any time after they have instituted an inquiry under section 6 of this Act with respect to any charity, the Commissioners are satisfied—

(a) that there is or has been any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity; and

(b) that it is necessary or desirable to act for the purpose of protecting the property of the charity or securing a proper application for the purposes of the charity of that property or of property coming to the charity;

the Commissioners may of their own motion do either or both of the following things, namely—

(i) by order remove any trustee, charity trustee, officer, agent or employee of the charity who has been responsible for or privy to the misconduct or mismanagement or has by his conduct contributed to it or facilitated it;

(ii) by order establish a scheme for the administration of the charity.”

(3) In subsection (2), after “subsection (1)” there shall be inserted “or (1A)”.

(4) In subsection (3), for paragraph (a) there shall be substituted—

“(a) where, within the last five years, the trustee—

(i) having previously been adjudged bankrupt or had his estate sequestrated, has been discharged, or

(ii) having previously made a composition or arrangement with, or granted a trust deed for, his creditors, has been discharged in respect of it;

(aa) where the trustee is a corporation in liquidation;

(ab) where the trustee is incapable of acting by reason of mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983;”.

(5) For subsection (7) there shall be substituted—

“(7) Subject to subsection (7A) below, subsections (10) and (11) of section 18 of this Act shall apply to orders under this section as they apply to orders under that section.

(7A) The requirement to obtain any such certificate or leave as is mentioned in the proviso to section 18(11) shall not apply to—

(a) an appeal by a charity or any of the charity trustees of a charity against an order under subsection (1)(vii) above appointing a receiver and manager in respect of the charity’s property and affairs, or

(b) an appeal by a person against an order under subsection (1A)(i) or (3)(a) above removing him from his office or employment.

(7B) Subsection (12) of section 18 of this Act shall apply to an order under this section which establishes a scheme for the administration of a charity as it applies to such an order under that section.”

(6) In subsection (8), for the words from the beginning to “the suspension” there shall be substituted “The power of the Commissioners to make an order under subsection (1)(i) above shall not be exercisable so as to suspend any person from the exercise of his office or employment for a period of more than twelve months; but (without prejudice to the generality of section 40(1) of this Act) any such order made in the case of any person may make provision as respects the period of his suspension”.

(7) In subsection (9), after “section” there shall be inserted “otherwise than by virtue of subsection (1) above”.

(8) After subsection (9) there shall be inserted—

“(9A) The Commissioners shall, at such intervals as they think fit, review any order made by them under paragraph (i), or any of paragraphs (iii) to (vii), of subsection (1) above; and, if on any such review it appears to them that it would be appropriate to discharge the order in whole or in part, they shall so discharge it (whether subject to any savings or other transitional provisions or not).”

(9) For subsection (10) there shall be substituted—

“(10) If any person contravenes an order under subsection (1)(iv), (v) or (vi) above, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the fifth level on the standard scale.

(10A) Subsection (10) above shall not be taken to preclude the bringing of proceedings for breach of trust against any charity trustee or trustee for a charity in respect of a contravention of an order under subsection (1)(iv) or (vi) above (whether proceedings in respect of the contravention are brought against him under subsection (10) above or not).”

(10) Section 20 of the 1960 Act, as amended by this section, and with the omission of repealed provisions, is set out in Schedule 1 to this Act.

9 Supplementary provisions relating to receiver and manager appointed for a charity

After section 20 of the 1960 Act there shall be inserted—

“20A Supplementary provisions relating to receiver and manager appointed for a charity

(1) The Commissioners may under section 20(1)(vii) of this Act appoint to be receiver and manager in respect of the property and affairs of a charity such person (other than an officer or employee of theirs) as they think fit.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of section 40(1) of this Act, any order made by the Commissioners under section 20(1)(vii) of this Act may make provision with respect to the functions to be discharged by the receiver and manager appointed by the order; and those functions shall be discharged by him under the supervision of the Commissioners.

(3) In connection with the discharge of those functions any such order may provide—

(a) for the receiver and manager appointed by the order to have such powers and duties of the charity trustees of the charity concerned (whether arising under this Act or otherwise) as are specified in the order;

(b) for any powers or duties exercisable or falling to be performed by the receiver and manager by virtue of paragraph (a) above to be exercisable or performed by him to the exclusion of those trustees.

(4) Where a person has been appointed receiver and manager by any such order—

(a) section 24 of this Act shall apply to him and to his functions as a person so appointed as it applies to a charity trustee of the charity concerned and to his duties as such; and

(b) the Commissioners may apply to the High Court for directions in relation to any particular matter arising in connection with the discharge of those functions.

(5) The High Court may on an application under subsection (4)(b) above—

(a) give such directions, or

(b) make such orders declaring the rights of any persons (whether before the court or not),

as it thinks just; and the costs of any such application shall be paid by the charity concerned.

(6) Regulations may make provision with respect to—

(a) the appointment and removal of persons appointed in accordance with this section;

(b) the remuneration of such persons out of the income of the charities concerned;

(c) the making of reports to the Commissioners by such persons.

(7) Regulations under subsection (6) above may, in particular, authorise the Commissioners—

(a) to require security for the due discharge of his functions to be given by a person so appointed;

(b) to determine the amount of such a person’s remuneration;

(c) to disallow any amount of remuneration in such circumstances as are prescribed by the regulations.”

10 Additional powers exercisable by Commissioners in relation to charitable companies

(1) At the end of section 30 of the 1960 Act (charitable companies: winding up) there shall be added—

“(2) Where a charity may be so wound up by the High Court, such a petition may also be presented by the Commissioners if, at any time after they have instituted an inquiry under section 6 of this Act with respect to the charity, they are satisfied as mentioned in section 20(1)(a) or (b) of this Act.

(3) Where a charitable company is dissolved, the Commissioners may make an application under section 651 of the Companies Act 1985 (power of court to declare dissolution of company void) for an order to be made under that section with respect to the company; and for this purpose subsection (1) of that section shall have effect in relation to a charitable company as if the reference to the liquidator of the company included a reference to the Commissioners.

(4) Where a charitable company’s name has been struck off the register of companies under section 652 of the Companies Act 1985 (power of registrar to strike defunct company off register), the Commissioners may make an application under section 653(2) of that Act (objection to striking off by person aggrieved) for an order restoring the company’s name to that register; and for this purpose section 653(2) shall have effect in relation to a charitable company as if the reference to any such person aggrieved as is there mentioned included a reference to the Commissioners.

(5) The powers exercisable by the Commissioners by virtue of this section shall be exercisable by them of their own motion, but shall be exercisable only with the agreement of the Attorney General on each occasion.

(6) In this section “charitable company” means a company which is a charity.”

(2) The existing provisions of section 30 of the 1960 Act (as amended by the [1989 c. 40.] Companies Act 1989) shall accordingly constitute subsection (1) of that section.

11 Report of inquiry held by Commissioners to be evidence in certain proceedings

After section 28 of the 1960 Act there shall be inserted—

“28A Report of s.6 inquiry to be evidence in certain proceedings

(1) A copy of the report of the person conducting an inquiry under section 6 of this Act shall, if certified by the Commissioners to be a true copy, be admissible in any proceedings to which this section applies—

(a) as evidence of any fact stated in the report; and

(b) as evidence of the opinion of that person as to any matter referred to in it.

(2) This section applies to—

(a) any legal proceedings instituted by the Commissioners under this Part of this Act; and

(b) any legal proceedings instituted by the Attorney General in respect of a charity.

(3) A document purporting to be a certificate issued for the purposes of subsection (1) above shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be such a certificate, unless the contrary is proved.”

12 Supervision by Commissioners of certain Scottish charities

(1) The following provisions of the 1960 Act (as amended by this Act), namely—

(a) sections 6 and 7,

(b) section 20 (except subsection (1A)(ii)), and

(c) section 20A,

shall have effect in relation to any recognised body which is managed or controlled wholly or mainly in or from England or Wales as they have effect in relation to a charity; and in paragraph 3(6) of Schedule 1 to that Act (constitution etc. of Commissioners) the reference to sections 6, 20 and 20A of that Act includes a reference to those sections as applied by this subsection.

(2) Where—

(a) a recognised body is managed or controlled wholly or mainly in or from Scotland, but

(b) any person in England and Wales holds any property on behalf of the body or of any person concerned in its management or control,

then, if the Commissioners are satisfied as to the matters mentioned in subsection (3), they may make an order requiring the person holding the property not to part with it without their approval.

(3) The matters referred to in subsection (2) are—

(a) that there has been any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the body; and

(b) that it is necessary or desirable to make an order under that subsection for the purpose of protecting the property of the body or securing a proper application of such property for the purposes of the body;

and the reference in that subsection to the Commissioners being satisfied as to those matters is a reference to their being so satisfied on the basis of such information as may be supplied to them by the Lord Advocate.

(4) Where—

(a) any person in England and Wales holds any property on behalf of a recognised body or of any person concerned in the management or control of such a body, and

(b) the Commissioners are satisfied (whether on the basis of such information as may be supplied to them by the Lord Advocate or otherwise)—

(i) that there has been any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the body, and

(ii) that it is necessary or desirable to make an order under this subsection for the purpose of protecting the property of the body or securing a proper application of such property for the purposes of the body,

the Commissioners may by order vest the property in such recognised body or charity as is specified in the order in accordance with subsection (5), or require any persons in whom the property is vested to transfer it to any such body or charity, or appoint any person to transfer the property to any such body or charity.

(5) The Commissioners may specify in an order under subsection (4) such other recognised body or such charity as they consider appropriate, being a body or charity whose purposes are, in the opinion of the Commissioners, as similar in character to those of the body referred to in paragraph (a) of that subsection as is reasonably practicable; but the Commissioners shall not so specify any body or charity unless they have received—

(a) from the persons concerned in the management or control of the body, or

(b) from the charity trustees of the charity,

as the case may be, written confirmation that they are willing to accept the property.

(6) In this section “recognised body” has the same meaning as in Part I of the [1990 c. 40.] Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 (Scottish charities).

Powers with respect to administration of charities

13 Commissioners' concurrent jurisdiction with High Court for certain purposes

(1) Section 18 of the 1960 Act (Commissioners' concurrent jurisdiction with High Court for certain purposes) shall be amended as follows.

(2) At the end of subsection (4) there shall be added “; or

(c) in the case of a charity other than an exempt charity, on the application of the Attorney General.”

(3) For subsection (5) there shall be substituted—

“(5) In the case of a charity which is not an exempt charity and whose income from all sources does not in aggregate exceed £500 a year, the Commissioners may exercise their jurisdiction under this section on the application—

(a) of any one or more of the charity trustees; or

(b) of any person interested in the charity; or

(c) of any two or more inhabitants of the area of the charity, if it is a local charity.”

(4) In subsection (6), for the words from “the Commissioners may” to “(5) above:” there shall be substituted “and the Commissioners have given the charity trustees an opportunity to make representations to them, the Commissioners may proceed as if an application for a scheme had been made by the charity:”.

(5) After subsection (6) there shall be inserted—

“(6A) Where—

(a) a charity cannot apply to the Commissioners for a scheme by reason of any vacancy among the charity trustees or the absence or incapacity of any of them, but

(b) such an application is made by such number of the charity trustees as the Commissioners consider appropriate in the circumstances of the case,

the Commissioners may nevertheless proceed as if the application were an application made by the charity.”

(6) At the end of the section there shall be added—

“(13) If he thinks it expedient to do so—

(a) in consequence of changes in the value of money, or

(b) with a view to increasing the number of charities in respect of which the Commissioners may exercise their jurisdiction under this section in accordance with subsection (5) above,

the Secretary of State may by order amend that subsection by substituting a different sum for the sum for the time being specified there.

(14) Any such order shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.”

14 Trust corporations appointed by Commissioners under 1960 Act

(1) After section 21 of the 1960 Act there shall be inserted—

“21A Application of provisions to trust corporations appointed under s.18 or 20

In the definition of “trust corporation” contained in the following provisions, namely—

(a) section 117(xxx) of the Settled Land Act 1925,

(b) section 68(18) of the Trustee Act 1925,

(c) section 205(xxviii) of the Law of Property Act 1925,

(d) section 55(xxvi) of the Administration of Estates Act 1925, and

(e) section 128 of the Supreme Court Act 1981,

the reference to a corporation appointed by the court in any particular case to be a trustee includes a reference to a corporation appointed by the Commissioners under this Act to be a trustee.”

(2) The amendment made by subsection (1) above shall be deemed always to have had effect; but in the section 21A inserted by that subsection the reference to section 128 of the [1981 c. 54.] Supreme Court Act 1981 shall, in relation to any time before 1st January 1982, be construed as a reference to section 175(1) of the [1925 c. 49.] Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act 1925.

15 Application of property cy-prehs

(1) Section 14 of the 1960 Act (application cy-prehs of gifts of donors unknown or disclaiming) shall be amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (1)—

(a) for “after such advertisements and inquiries as are reasonable, cannot” there shall be substituted “after—

(i) the prescribed advertisements and inquiries have been published and made, and

(ii) the prescribed period beginning with the publication of those advertisements has expired,

cannot”; and

(b) for “written disclaimer” there shall be inserted “disclaimer in the prescribed form”.

(3) After subsection (1) there shall be inserted—

“(1A) Where the prescribed advertisements and inquiries have been published and made by or on behalf of trustees with respect to any such property, the trustees shall not be liable to any person in respect of the property if no claim by him to be interested in it is received by them before the expiry of the period mentioned in subsection (1)(a)(ii) above.”

(4) In subsection (4)(b), for “twelve” there shall be substituted “six”.

(5) After subsection (4) there shall be inserted—

“(4A) Where—

(a) any sum is, in accordance with any such directions, set aside for meeting any such claims, but

(b) the aggregate amount of any such claims actually made exceeds the relevant amount,

then, if the Commissioners so direct, each of the donors in question shall be entitled only to such proportion of the relevant amount as the amount of his claim bears to the aggregate amount referred to in paragraph (b) above; and for this purpose “the relevant amount” means the amount of the sum so set aside after deduction of any expenses properly incurred by the charity trustees in connection with claims relating to the donors' gifts.”

(6) After subsection (5) there shall be inserted—

“(5A) In this section “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Commissioners; and such regulations may, as respects the advertisements which are to be published for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) above, make provision as to the form and content of such advertisements as well as the manner in which they are to be published.

(5B) Any regulations made by the Commissioners under this section shall be published by the Commissioners in such manner as they think fit.”

16 Common deposit funds

After section 22 of the 1960 Act there shall be inserted—

“22A Schemes to establish common deposit funds

(1) The court or the Commissioners may by order make and bring into effect schemes (in this section referred to as “common deposit schemes”) for the establishment of common deposit funds under trusts which provide—

(a) for sums to be deposited by or on behalf of a charity participating in the scheme and invested under the control of trustees appointed to manage the fund; and

(b) for any such charity to be entitled (subject to the provisions of the scheme) to repayment of any sums so deposited and to interest thereon at a rate determined under the scheme.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) below, the following provisions of section 22 of this Act, namely—

(a) subsections (2) to (4), and

(b) subsections (7) to (11),

shall have effect in relation to common deposit schemes and common deposit funds as they have effect in relation to common investment schemes and common investment funds.

(3) In its application in accordance with subsection (2) above, subsection (4) of that section shall have effect with the substitution for paragraphs (b) and (c) of the following paragraphs—

“(b) for regulating as to time, amount or otherwise the right to repayment of sums deposited in the fund;

(c) for authorising a part of the income for any year to be credited to a reserve account maintained for the purpose of counteracting any losses accruing to the fund, and generally for regulating the manner in which the rate of interest on deposits is to be determined from time to time;”.”

17 Power of Commissioners to authorise certain ex gratia payments etc. by charities

After section 23 of the 1960 Act there shall be inserted—

“23A Power to authorise certain ex gratia payments etc

(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, the Commissioners may by order exercise the same power as is exercisable by the Attorney General to authorise the charity trustees of a charity—

(a) to make any application of property of the charity, or

(b) to waive to any extent, on behalf of the charity, its entitlement to receive any property,

in a case where the charity trustees—

(i) (apart from this section) have no power to do so, but

(ii) in all the circumstances regard themselves as being under a moral obligation to do so.

(2) The power conferred on the Commissioners by subsection (1) above shall be exercisable by them under the supervision of, and in accordance with such directions as may be given by, the Attorney General; and any such directions may in particular require the Commissioners, in such circumstances as are specified in the directions—

(a) to refrain from exercising that power; or

(b) to consult the Attorney General before exercising it.

(3) Where—

(a) an application is made to the Commissioners for them to exercise that power in a case where they are not precluded from doing so by any such directions, but

(b) they consider that it would nevertheless be desirable for the application to be entertained by the Attorney General rather than by them,

they shall refer the application to the Attorney General.

(4) It is hereby declared that where, in the case of any application made to them as mentioned in subsection (3)(a) above, the Commissioners determine the application by refusing to authorise charity trustees to take any action falling within subsection (1)(a) or (b) above, that refusal shall not preclude the Attorney General, on an application subsequently made to him by the trustees, from authorising the trustees to take that action.”

18 Dormant bank accounts of charities

(1) Where the Commissioners—

(a) are informed by a relevant institution—

(i) that it holds one or more accounts in the name of or on behalf of a particular charity (“the relevant charity”), and

(ii) that the account, or (if it so holds two or more accounts) each of the accounts, is dormant, and

(b) are unable, after making reasonable inquiries, to locate that charity or any of its trustees,

they may give a direction under subsection (2).

(2) A direction under this subsection is a direction which—

(a) requires the institution concerned to transfer the amount, or (as the case may be) the aggregate amount, standing to the credit of the relevant charity in the account or accounts in question to such other charity as is specified in the direction in accordance with subsection (3); or

(b) requires the institution concerned to transfer to each of two or more other charities so specified in the direction such part of that amount or aggregate amount as is there specified in relation to that charity.

(3) The Commissioners may specify in a direction under subsection (2) such other charity or charities as they consider appropriate, having regard, in a case where the purposes of the relevant charity are known to them, to those purposes and to the purposes of the other charity or charities; but the Commissioners shall not so specify any charity unless they have received from the charity trustees written confirmation that those trustees are willing to accept the amount proposed to be transferred to the charity.

(4) Any amount received by a charity by virtue of this section shall be received by the charity on terms that—

(a) it shall be held and applied by the charity for the purposes of the charity, but

(b) it shall, as property of the charity, nevertheless be subject to any restrictions on expenditure to which it was subject as property of the relevant charity.

(5) Where—

(a) the Commissioners have been informed as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) by any relevant institution, and