(1) This Chapter regulates public charitable collections, which are of the following two types—
(a) collections in a public place; and
(b) door to door collections.
(2) For the purposes of this Chapter—
(a) “public charitable collection” means (subject to section 46) a charitable appeal which is made—
(i) in any public place, or
(ii) by means of visits to houses or business premises (or both);
(b) “charitable appeal” means an appeal to members of the public which is—
(i) an appeal to them to give money or other property, or
(ii) an appeal falling within subsection (4),
(or both) and which is made in association with a representation that the whole or any part of its proceeds is to be applied for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes;
(c) a “collection in a public place” is a public charitable collection that is made in a public place, as mentioned in paragraph (a)(i);
(d) a “door to door collection” is a public charitable collection that is made by means of visits to houses or business premises (or both), as mentioned in paragraph (a)(ii).
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b)—
(a) the reference to the giving of money is to doing so by whatever means; and
(b) it does not matter whether the giving of money or other property is for consideration or otherwise.
(4) An appeal falls within this subsection if it consists in or includes—
(a) the making of an offer to sell goods or to supply services, or
(b) the exposing of goods for sale,
to members of the public.
(5) In this section—
“business premises” means any premises used for business or other commercial purposes;
“house” includes any part of a building constituting a separate dwelling;
“public place” means—
any highway, and
(subject to subsection (6)) any other place to which, at any time when the appeal is made, members of the public have or are permitted to have access and which either—
is not within a building, or
if within a building, is a public area within any station, airport or shopping precinct or any other similar public area.
(6) In subsection (5), paragraph (b) of the definition of “public place” does not include—
(a) any place to which members of the public are permitted to have access only if any payment or ticket required as a condition of access has been made or purchased; or
(b) any place to which members of the public are permitted to have access only by virtue of permission given for the purposes of the appeal in question.
(1) A charitable appeal is not a public charitable collection if the appeal—
(a) is made in the course of a public meeting; or
(b) is made—
(i) on land within a churchyard or burial ground contiguous or adjacent to a place of public worship, or
(ii) on other land occupied for the purposes of a place of public worship and contiguous or adjacent to it,
where the land is enclosed or substantially enclosed (whether by any wall or building or otherwise); or
(c) is made on land to which members of the public have access only—
(i) by virtue of the express or implied permission of the occupier of the land, or
(ii) by virtue of any enactment,
and the occupier is the promoter of the collection; or
(d) is an appeal to members of the public to give money or other property by placing it in an unattended receptacle.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(c) “the occupier”, in relation to unoccupied land, means the person entitled to occupy it.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1)(d) a receptacle is unattended if it is not in the possession or custody of a person acting as a collector.
(1) In this Chapter—
“charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution” means—
a charity, or
an institution (other than a charity) which is established for charitable, benevolent, or philanthropic purposes;
“collector”, in relation to a public charitable collection, means any person by whom the appeal in question is made (whether made by him alone or with others and whether made by him for remuneration or otherwise);
“local authority” means a unitary authority, the council of a district so far as it is not a unitary authority, the council of a London borough or of a Welsh county or county borough, the Common Council of the City of London or the Council of the Isles of Scilly;
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under section 63;
“proceeds”, in relation to a public charitable collection, means all money or other property given (whether for consideration or otherwise) in response to the charitable appeal in question;
“promoter”, in relation to a public charitable collection, means—
a person who (whether alone or with others and whether for remuneration or otherwise) organises or controls the conduct of the charitable appeal in question, or
where there is no person acting as mentioned in paragraph (a), any person who acts as a collector in respect of the collection,
and associated expressions are to be construed accordingly;
“public collections certificate” means a certificate issued by the Commission under section 52.
(2) In subsection (1) “unitary authority” means—
(a) the council of a county so far as it is the council for an area for which there are no district councils;
(b) the council of any district comprised in an area for which there is no county council.
(3) The functions exercisable under this Chapter by a local authority are to be exercisable—
(a) as respects the Inner Temple, by its Sub-Treasurer, and
(b) as respects the Middle Temple, by its Under Treasurer;
and references in this Chapter to a local authority or to the area of a local authority are to be construed accordingly.
(1) A collection in a public place must not be conducted unless—
(a) the promoters of the collection hold a public collections certificate in force under section 52 in respect of the collection, and
(b) the collection is conducted in accordance with a permit issued under section 59 by the local authority in whose area it is conducted.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a public charitable collection which is an exempt collection by virtue of section 50 (local, short-term collections).
(3) Where—
(a) a collection in a public place is conducted in contravention of subsection (1), and
(b) the circumstances of the case do not fall within section 50(6),
every promoter of the collection is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
(1) A door to door collection must not be conducted unless the promoters of the collection—
(a) hold a public collections certificate in force under section 52 in respect of the collection, and
(b) have within the prescribed period falling before the day (or the first of the days) on which the collection takes place—
(i) notified the local authority in whose area the collection is to be conducted of the matters mentioned in subsection (3), and
(ii) provided that authority with a copy of the certificate mentioned in paragraph (a).
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a door to door collection which is an exempt collection by virtue of section 50 (local, short-term collections).
(3) The matters referred to in subsection (1)(b)(i) are—
(a) the purpose for which the proceeds of the appeal are to be applied;
(b) the prescribed particulars of when the collection is to be conducted;
(c) the locality within which the collection is to be conducted; and
(d) such other matters as may be prescribed.
(4) Where—
(a) a door to door collection is conducted in contravention of subsection (1), and
(b) the circumstances of the case do not fall within section 50(6),
every promoter of the collection is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
This is subject to subsection (5).
(5) Where—
(a) a door to door collection is conducted in contravention of subsection (1),
(b) the appeal is for goods only, and
(c) the circumstances of the case do not fall within section 50(6),
every promoter of the collection is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(6) In subsection (5) “goods” includes all personal chattels other than things in action and money.
(1) A public charitable collection is an exempt collection if—
(a) it is a local, short-term collection (see subsection (2)), and
(b) the promoters notify the local authority in whose area it is to be conducted of the matters mentioned in subsection (3) within the prescribed period falling before the day (or the first of the days) on which the collection takes place,
unless, within the prescribed period beginning with the date when they are so notified, the local authority serve a notice under subsection (4) on the promoters.
(2) A public charitable collection is a local, short term collection if—
(a) the appeal is local in character; and
(b) the duration of the appeal does not exceed the prescribed period of time.
(3) The matters referred to in subsection (1)(b) are—
(a) the purpose for which the proceeds of the appeal are to be applied;
(b) the date or dates on which the collection is to be conducted;
(c) the place at which, or the locality within which, the collection is to be conducted; and
(d) such other matters as may be prescribed.
(4) Where it appears to the local authority—
(a) that the collection is not a local, short-term collection, or
(b) that the promoters or any of them have or has on any occasion—
(i) breached any provision of regulations made under section 63, or
(ii) been convicted of an offence within section 53(2)(a)(i) to (v),
they must serve on the promoters written notice of their decision to that effect and the reasons for their decision.
(5) That notice must also state the right of appeal conferred by section 62(1) and the time within which such an appeal must be brought.
(6) Where—
(a) a collection in a public place is conducted otherwise than in accordance with section 48(1) or a door to door collection is conducted otherwise than in accordance with section 49(1), and
(b) the collection is a local, short term collection but the promoters do not notify the local authority as mentioned in subsection (1)(b),
every promoter of the collection is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(1) A person or persons proposing to promote public charitable collections (other than exempt collections) may apply to the Charity Commission for a public collections certificate in respect of those collections.
(2) The application must be made—
(a) within the specified period falling before the first of the collections is to commence, or
(b) before such later date as the Commission may allow in the case of that application.
(3) The application must—
(a) be made in such form as may be specified,
(b) specify the period for which the certificate is sought (which must be no more than 5 years), and
(c) contain such other information as may be specified.
(4) An application under this section may be made for a public collections certificate in respect of a single collection; and the references in this Chapter, in the context of such certificates, to public charitable collections are to be read accordingly.
(5) In subsections (2) and (3) “specified” means specified in regulations made by the Commission after consulting such persons or bodies of persons as it considers appropriate.
(6) Regulations under subsection (5)—
(a) must be published in such manner as the Commission considers appropriate,
(b) may make different provision for different cases or descriptions of case, and
(c) may make such incidental, supplementary, consequential or transitional provision as the Commission considers appropriate.
(7) In this section “exempt collection” means a public charitable collection which is an exempt collection by virtue of section 50.
(1) On receiving an application for a public collections certificate made in accordance with section 51, the Commission may make such inquiries (whether under section 54 or otherwise) as it thinks fit.
(2) The Commission must, after making any such inquiries, determine the application by either—
(a) issuing a public collections certificate in respect of the collections, or
(b) refusing the application on one or more of the grounds specified in section 53(1).
(3) A public collections certificate—
(a) must specify such matters as may be prescribed, and
(b) shall (subject to section 56) be in force for—
(i) the period specified in the application in accordance with section 51(3)(b), or
(ii) such shorter period as the Commission thinks fit.
(4) The Commission may, at the time of issuing a public collections certificate, attach to it such conditions as it thinks fit.
(5) Conditions attached under subsection (4) may include conditions prescribed for the purposes of that subsection.
(6) The Commission must secure that the terms of any conditions attached under subsection (4) are consistent with the provisions of any regulations under section 63 (whether or not prescribing conditions for the purposes of that subsection).
(7) Where the Commission—
(a) refuses to issue a certificate, or
(b) attaches any condition to it,
it must serve on the applicant written notice of its decision and the reasons for its decision.
(8) That notice must also state the right of appeal conferred by section 57(1) and the time within which such an appeal must be brought.
(1) The grounds on which the Commission may refuse an application for a public collections certificate are—
(a) that the applicant has been convicted of a relevant offence;
(b) where the applicant is a person other than a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution for whose benefit the collections are proposed to be conducted, that the Commission is not satisfied that the applicant is authorised (whether by any such institution or by any person acting on behalf of any such institution) to promote the collections;
(c) that it appears to the Commission that the applicant, in promoting any other collection authorised under this Chapter or under section 119 of the 1982 Act, failed to exercise the required due diligence;
(d) that the Commission is not satisfied that the applicant will exercise the required due diligence in promoting the proposed collections;
(e) that it appears to the Commission that the amount likely to be applied for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes in consequence of the proposed collections would be inadequate, having regard to the likely amount of the proceeds of the collections;
(f) that it appears to the Commission that the applicant or any other person would be likely to receive an amount by way of remuneration in connection with the collections that would be excessive, having regard to all the circumstances;
(g) that the applicant has failed to provide information—
(i) required for the purposes of the application for the certificate or a previous application, or
(ii) in response to a request under section 54(1);
(h) that it appears to the Commission that information so provided to it by the applicant is false or misleading in a material particular;
(i) that it appears to the Commission that the applicant or any person authorised by him—
(i) has breached any conditions attached to a previous public collections certificate, or
(ii) has persistently breached any conditions attached to a permit issued under section 59;
(j) that it appears to the Commission that the applicant or any person authorised by him has on any occasion breached any provision of regulations made under section 63(1)(b).
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)—
(a) a “relevant offence” is—
(i) an offence under section 5 of the 1916 Act;
(ii) an offence under the 1939 Act;
(iii) an offence under section 119 of the 1982 Act or regulations made under it;
(iv) an offence under this Chapter;
(v) an offence involving dishonesty; or
(vi) an offence of a kind the commission of which would, in the opinion of the Commission, be likely to be facilitated by the issuing to the applicant of a public collections certificate; and
(b) the “required due diligence” is due diligence—
(i) to secure that persons authorised by the applicant to act as collectors for the purposes of the collection were (or will be) fit and proper persons;
(ii) to secure that such persons complied (or will comply) with the provisions of regulations under section 63(1)(b) of this Act or (as the case may be) section 119 of the 1982 Act; or
(iii) to prevent badges or certificates of authority being obtained by persons other than those the applicant had so authorised.
(3) Where an application for a certificate is made by more than one person, any reference to the applicant in subsection (1) or (2) is to be construed as a reference to any of the applicants.
(4) Subject to subsections (5) and (6), the reference in subsection (2)(b)(iii) to badges or certificates of authority is a reference to badges or certificates of authority in a form prescribed by regulations under section 63(1)(b) of this Act or (as the case may be) under section 119 of the 1982 Act.
(5) Subsection (2)(b) applies to the conduct of the applicant (or any of the applicants) in relation to any public charitable collection authorised—
(a) under regulations made under section 5 of the 1916 Act (collection of money or sale of articles in a street or other public place), or
(b) under the 1939 Act (collection of money or other property by means of visits from house to house),
as it applies to his conduct in relation to a collection authorised under this Chapter, but subject to the modifications set out in subsection (6).
(6) The modifications are—
(a) in the case of a collection authorised under regulations made under the 1916 Act—
(i) the reference in subsection (2)(b)(ii) to regulations under section 63(1)(b) of this Act is to be construed as a reference to the regulations under which the collection in question was authorised, and
(ii) the reference in subsection (2)(b)(iii) to badges or certificates of authority is to be construed as a reference to any written authority provided to a collector pursuant to those regulations; and
(b) in the case of a collection authorised under the 1939 Act—
(i) the reference in subsection (2)(b)(ii) to regulations under section 63(1)(b) of this Act is to be construed as a reference to regulations under section 4 of that Act, and
(ii) the reference in subsection (2)(b)(iii) to badges or certificates of authority is to be construed as a reference to badges or certificates of authority in a form prescribed by such regulations.
(7) In subsections (1)(c) and (5) a reference to a collection authorised under this Chapter is a reference to a public charitable collection that—
(a) is conducted in accordance with section 48 or section 49 (as the case may be), or
(b) is an exempt collection by virtue of section 50.
(8) In this section—
“the 1916 Act” means the Police, Factories, &c. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916 (c. 31);
“the 1939 Act” means the House to House Collections Act 1939 (c. 44); and
“the 1982 Act” means the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (c. 45).
(1) The Commission may request—
(a) any applicant for a public collections certificate, or
(b) any person to whom such a certificate has been issued,
to provide it with any information in his possession, or document in his custody or under this control, which is relevant to the exercise of any of its functions under this Chapter.
(2) Nothing in this section affects the power conferred on the Commission by section 9 of the 1993 Act.
(1) One or more individuals to whom a public collections certificate has been issued (“the holders”) may apply to the Commission for a direction that the certificate be transferred to one or more other individuals (“the recipients”).
(2) An application under subsection (1) must—
(a) be in such form as may be specified, and
(b) contain such information as may be specified.
(3) The Commission may direct that the certificate be transferred if it is satisfied that—
(a) each of the holders is or was a trustee of a charity which is not a body corporate;
(b) each of the recipients is a trustee of that charity and consents to the transfer; and
(c) the charity trustees consent to the transfer.
(4) Where the Commission refuses to direct that a certificate be transferred, it must serve on the holders written notice of—
(a) its decision, and
(b) the reasons for its decision.
(5) That notice must also state the right of appeal conferred by section 57(2) and the time within which such an appeal must be brought.
(6) Subsections (5) and (6) of section 51 apply for the purposes of subsection (2) of this section as they apply for the purposes of subsection (3) of that section.
(7) Except as provided by this section, a public collections certificate is not transferable.
(1) Where subsection (2), (3) or (4) applies, the Commission may—
(a) withdraw a public collections certificate,
(b) suspend such a certificate,
(c) attach any condition (or further condition) to such a certificate, or
(d) vary any existing condition of such a certificate.
(2) This subsection applies where the Commission—
(a) has reason to believe there has been a change in the circumstances which prevailed at the time when it issued the certificate, and
(b) is of the opinion that, if the application for the certificate had been made in the new circumstances, it would not have issued the certificate or would have issued it subject to different or additional conditions.
(3) This subsection applies where—
(a) the holder of a certificate has unreasonably refused to provide any information or document in response to a request under section 54(1), or
(b) the Commission has reason to believe that information provided to it by the holder of a certificate (or, where there is more than one holder, by any of them) for the purposes of the application for the certificate, or in response to such a request, was false or misleading in a material particular.
(4) This subsection applies where the Commission has reason to believe that there has been or is likely to be a breach of any condition of a certificate, or that a breach of such a condition is continuing.
(5) Any condition imposed at any time by the Commission under subsection (1) (whether by attaching a new condition to the certificate or by varying an existing condition) must be one that it would be appropriate for the Commission to attach to the certificate under section 52(4) if the holder was applying for it in the circumstances prevailing at that time.
(6) The exercise by the Commission of the power conferred by paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of subsection (1) on one occasion does not prevent it from exercising any of the powers conferred by that subsection on a subsequent occasion; and on any subsequent occasion the reference in subsection (2)(a) to the time when the Commission issued the certificate is a reference to the time when it last exercised any of those powers.
(7) Where the Commission—
(a) withdraws or suspends a certificate,
(b) attaches a condition to a certificate, or
(c) varies an existing condition of a certificate,
it must serve on the holder written notice of its decision and the reasons for its decision.
(8) That notice must also state the right of appeal conferred by section 57(3) and the time within which such an appeal must be brought.
(9) If the Commission—
(a) considers that the interests of the public require a decision by it under this section to have immediate effect, and
(b) includes a statement to that effect and the reasons for it in the notice served under subsection (7),
the decision takes effect when that notice is served on the holder.
(10) In any other case the certificate shall continue to have effect as if it had not been withdrawn or suspended or (as the case may be) as if the condition had not been attached or varied—
(a) until the time for bringing an appeal under section 57(3) has expired, or
(b) if such an appeal is duly brought, until the determination or abandonment of the appeal.
(11) A certificate suspended under this section shall (subject to any appeal and any withdrawal of the certificate) remain suspended until—
(a) such time as the Commission may by notice direct that the certificate is again in force, or
(b) the end of the period of six months beginning with the date on which the suspension takes effect,
whichever is the sooner.
(1) A person who has duly applied to the Commission for a public collections certificate may appeal to the Charity Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) against a decision of the Commission under section 52—
(a) to refuse to issue the certificate, or
(b) to attach any condition to it.