Clause 3
Charities Bill [Lords]
5:00 pm
Edward Miliband (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Cabinet Office; Doncaster North, Labour)
Reassurance can be offered on the point about missionary work, which has been raised before.
Let me return to the argument. There will be a public benefit test for every charity, and that is right. There is a specific issue about fee-charging charities, because they have to show that they provide benefit to a sufficient section of the population, and it will be for the commission to implement the provision in practice. My concern about the hon. Gentleman’s amendment is that, essentially, he seeks to provide a free pass to certain charities. His concern is probably motivated by independent schools, but the Conservative party is on its own not only in this Committee but in relation to independent schools. They welcome the Bill and say that it is the right thing to do.
I have a letter from Jonathan Shephard, head of the Independent Schools Council, to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. It is important for the Committee to hear it. He says:
“Presumption of public benefit will be removed. This is of prime importance. Until now, the presumption has been that a body established for charitable purposes (including education) is charitable. This is (broadly) irrespective of performance. Now that the presumption is being removed, there will be no place for the lazy charity.”
Mr. Shephard goes on to say that in evidence to the Joint Committee, chaired by my right hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn), he referred to the fact that some charities needed to pull their socks up. He said that they will now have to do so, because of the removal of presumption, and the likely annual audit and return of public benefit that they will be required to provide.
I agree with Mr. Jonathan Shephard. Many private schools do incredibly good work with the state sector, but as he said to me, we aspire to ensure that as many schools as possible rise to the standards of the best in co-operation with the state sector. We are trying to break down the divide between private and state schools. That is important, and I would have thought that the Conservative party would welcome it. The Bill, by removing the presumption, will help to ensure that it happens. Mr. Jonathan Shephard of the Independent Schools Council, which represents the private schools, after all, agrees. He thinks it is a good idea. In fact, he has said that it is a very good Bill, so I cannot for the life of me see why the hon. Gentleman is worried. There will be a test, and the bar will be raised, because the test was not being implemented in practice before.