Charities Bill [HL]

I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Swinfen, for his explanation and the background to his amendment. As the noble Lord noted in his comments, we debated it in Grand Committee during the previous Parliament. I said then that the Government would bring forward our own amendments to give effect to some of the changes sought by the noble Lord, Lord Swinfen, and others. I hope that in speaking to government Amendments Nos. 68 to 72, the noble Lord will accept that we have achieved the result that he seeks. Section 18 of the 1993 Act specifies powers that may be exercised by the commission at any time after it has instituted a Section 8 inquiry. Those include, under subsection (1)(vii), the power to appoint by order, in accordance with Section 19, a receiver and manager in respect of the property and affairs of the charity. Section 19 sets out supplemental provisions in relation   to a receiver and manager appointed under Section 18. Subsection (6) contains a regulation-making power   and   the Charities (Receiver and Manager) Regulations 1992 have effect as if made under that subsection. There is a common assumption that a charity to which a receiver and manager has been appointed by the commission is in the process of being wound up. That assumption appears to be based on people’s perception of what a ““receiver”” is. In fact, the purpose of appointing a receiver and manager is in many cases to restore the charity to a position where it can be fully operational again. In such cases, the appointment of a receiver and manager for a charity is undertaken as a temporary and protective measure. The assumption that a receiver and manager appointment is designed to wind up the charity can stigmatise it and may lead to donors and creditors withdrawing their support, or almost as importantly, their goodwill. Our Amendments Nos. 68 to 72 would do away with the word ““receiver””, by changing the term ““receiver and manager”” in the 1993 Act to ““interim manager””. That has the benefit of explaining that it is for an interim period, and the function is primarily about management rather than operating as a receiver with all of the connotations of that term. The noble Lord, Lord Swinfen, has made that point persuasively in the past. We do not want to change the legal status of such a person to that of trustee—all that is intended is a name change, to avoid the stigma attached to the word ““receiver””. Amendment No. 68 makes provision to the effect that an ““interim manager”” appointed under Section 18 is deemed for the purposes of the law in England and Wales to be a receiver and manager appointed by the   Charity Commission under that provision. That ensures that the body of existing and future case law and statutory provisions, such as in the Companies Act 1985 and the Insolvency Act 1985, relating to receivers and managers, will continue to apply. Amendments Nos. 69 to 72 make consequential amendments to Section 19(1) to Section 19(4) of the 1993 Act, where there are currently several references to ““receiver and manager””. The change should be welcomed by all. I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Swinfen, will recognise that we have moved in the direction of his original intent and his amendments, and I hope that he will accept that our amendments will achieve the purpose that he seeks. For those reasons, I invite the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.