Ellenborough and Netherton Reading and Recreation Room Charity: Charity Commission decision
Published 10 July 2013
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2013
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In February 2013 the Commission made a decision (the Decision) not to reinstate the Ellenborough and Netherton Reading and Recreation Room (the Charity) to the Register of charities which the Commission maintains pursuant to S29 and S30 of the Charities Act 2011 (2011 Act). The Commission has a general function pursuant to S15(1) of the 2011 Act to determine whether an institution is or is not a charity and a duty under S29 and S34 of the 2011 Act to maintain an accurate and up to date Register.
The Charity, under its former name, had been registered in 1964 and was removed in 1997 for the stated reason that the charity “did not operate” but it was established some time later that the premises were still in operation albeit occupied by a non charitable social club. It became apparent that the stated reason for removal may not have represented the full picture as the Charity’s governing document (a 1908 Declaration of Trust) did not allow the Premises to be applied and used exclusively for charitable purposes. The resulting organisation would not be a charity unless the Charitable Trusts Validation Act 1954 (1954 Act) applied. A question arose as to whether the 1954 Act was applicable to save the trusts by validating the objects which were exclusively charitable and permitting those purposes which were not exclusively charitable to be treated as having no legal effect. The Commission could not reach a conclusion that the trusts had been validated under the 1954 Act and so made the Decision not to reinstate the Charity to the Register.
The Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO) is a registered charity and the umbrella organisation for miners welfare charities. It holds the adjacent recreation land on trust and asked the Commission to review its decision not to reinstate the Charity. CISWO provided additional correspondence which had not been available to the Commission when it had made its Decision.
The review was undertaken by a member of legal services who reconsidered the law and evidence relating to the registration of the Charity in 1964 and the removal in 1997. The reviewer found that the 1908 Trusts were capable of validation under the 1954 Act and that the Commission could conclude that it is more likely than not that the Charity is a charity within the meaning of S1 (1) of the 2011 Act. Accordingly the Commission could assert jurisdiction over the Charity Premises by reinstating the Charity to the Register of charities in accordance with S29 and S30 of the 2011 Act.