Private schools fight charity law

17 May 2011 Last updated at 16:52 GMT Independent schools say the law is difficult for trustees to assess what they can and cannot do The independent schools sector has accused the Charity Commission of introducing "vague, uncertain, legally flawed" new rules on charitable status.

The commission brought in a new public benefit guidance test to assess whether schools are sufficiently charitable and adequately help the less well-off.

The 2006 Charities Act means they no longer have automatic charitable status and must prove their benefit.

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is challenging the law at a tribunal.

Charitable status brings tax benefits to independent schools believed to be worth more than ?100m a year.

But independent schools say that they are offering means-tested bursaries worth over ?200m a year.

'Vague and uncertain'

The ISC was successful in its bid for a judicial review last year and the Charities Tribunal hearing - taking place at the Upper Tribunal at London's High Court - is expected to last more than a week.

The organisation, representing 1,260 schools, says the guidance is too narrow, and does not take into account all the charitable work that schools are involved in.

Nigel Giffin QC, appearing for the ISC on Tuesday, said: "We say the test of whether you have done what is reasonable or appropriate in the circumstances is so vague and so uncertain that it leaves [school] trustees wholly unable to say with a reasonable degree of certainty what they must or must not do in order to avoid any breach of trust."

As a consequence, he said, the commission "gets pulled in to second-guessing and micro-managing trustees' decisions about how to carry out their duties and run the charity".

Mr Giffin continued: "The ISC has not brought these proceedings because it thinks that widening access to independent charitable schools is a bad thing or an unimportant thing.

"It is the position of my clients that widening access is an important and valuable thing.

"The [ISC] evidence sets out in some detail the very considerable lengths the sector, taken as a whole, already goes to to widen access and engage in partnership activities.

"The practical problem that concerns many of its members is that, because of the commission's approach to what is a strict legal requirement, it has become very difficult - impossible even - for the trustees to know what they can or cannot do."

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Private schools charity law fight

17 May 2011 Last updated at 02:01 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent Independent schools warn that providing bursaries could mean pushing up fees for other parents Independent schools in England and Wales are to mount a legal challenge against tighter regulations over charitable status.

The Independent Schools Council claims the requirements to show how schools offer "public benefit" are unfair.

It says the cost of offering bursaries to poorer pupils could mean higher fees and pricing out hard-pressed families.

The Charity Commission says it looks at a wider range of public benefits when assessing cases - not just bursaries.

The Charity Tribunal will be asked to clarify the disputed rules under which independent schools can retain charitable status at a hearing which begins on Tuesday.

Flexible support

The 2006 Charities Act meant that independent schools could no longer automatically claim charitable status - instead they had to demonstrate that they offered benefits to a wider public, beyond their own fee-paying pupils.

But the Independent Schools Council, representing more than 1,200 schools, has argued that the Charity Commission guidelines interpret this in too narrow a way - with too much emphasis on bursaries.

The ISC says that its key concern is about whether private schools should be obliged to provide bursaries for poorer students as a condition of keeping charitable status.

The council says that many schools already offer bursaries - but it wants schools to be allowed flexibility over how they benefit the wider community, such as sharing facilities and developing partnerships with local state schools.

It warns that requiring schools to provide bursaries could mean pushing up fees, which it says will hurt those middle-income families who are already financially-stretched.

But the Charity Commission says that it takes a wider range of factors into account when assessing public benefit - including educational work with local communities and state schools, as well as bursaries.

The Charity Commission also says that it allows up to five years for charities to meet requirements.

Last year the ISC was successful in its bid for a judicial review - and the Charities Tribunal hearing is expected to last more than a week.

The proceedings will take place alongside questions from the Attorney General about charity law and public benefit, relating to fee-charging charities.

Charitable status brings tax benefits to independent schools believed to be worth more than ?100m a year.

But independent schools say that they are offering means-tested bursaries worth over ?200m a year.

View the original article here