The Island’s charities, as well as the wider population, are being asked to give their views on the proposed new Charities Registration and Regulation Bill.
The proposed new legislation has come about as a result of the need to update the Island’s laws around charitable activity and the charitable sector in general, improving the effectiveness of the registration and regulation of charities.
It retains the requirement that any Manx charity must have a substantial and genuine connection with the Island.
Those who want to comment on the Bill can do so via the Government’s online consultation hub.
The core changes that the proposed Bill will bring about are as follows:
- update the meaning of “charity” so that it remains at least as broad as in England and Wales, so that established charities in that jurisdiction are not barred from charitable activity in the Isle of Man
- provide for a modern register of charities which are carrying out activities on the Island
- help charity trustees deliver their charity’s objectives, by ensuring that charities have constitutional documents which are fit for purpose
- ensure more effective regulation of charities by increasing reporting requirements and ensuring accountability within the Island
- combining the functions of registrar and regulator in the Attorney General, mirroring the Charity Commission in England and Wales
- provide a simplified mechanism for appealing decisions of the registrar/regulator by establishing a Charities Tribunal
The online consultation hub includes copies of the Bill as well as a range of other notes and documents. It is open until 5 October.
