ISC welcomes Charities Bill

21 December 2004

ISC agrees with the Government that Britain's charity law needs updating, and welcomes the publication of the Charities Bill, with its mission to provide clarity and stability for all charitable sectors.

ISC schools which are charitable educate 455,000 children. On the Government's own figures, this saves the public purse almost £2bn each year, and frees this amount for spending elsewhere in the education sector, including maintained schools, pre-school provision, and university and higher education.

The tax benefits of charitable status to individual schools are far outweighed by the amounts given back in fee assistance. Almost a third (31.5%) of pupils in ISC schools are given help with fees. On average, £3 is now given back - almost all in assistance with fees - for every £1 of benefit received from charitable status. In addition, schools pay twice as much in VAT on goods and services as they receive in fiscal benefit from charitable status.

ISC schools work in partnership with maintained schools in many different ways, including teaching of minority subjects, co-operation in music and the arts, and providing for special needs. Examples of community co-operation are many and varied, including making sports and other facilities available to local communities.

The ISC has consistently argued against the establishment of a rigid test of public benefit because the circumstances of individual charities differ greatly. It welcomes the fact that the Charity Commission is to be given the regulatory function to inquire into the public benefit provided by charities, to issue guidance and to consult widely on that guidance.

This provides a clear mechanism for monitoring public benefit and, where necessary, for bringing charities back to their charitable purposes

Notes: The ISC gave detailed evidence to the Joint Parliamentary Committee which scrutinised the Draft Charities Bill last summer.