Charities Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am having great difficulty with the amendment. It has always been the case that turning assets into charitable assets is a one-way track. There is no way back. Therefore it seems to me, if this were to be a right clause, that in the first instance a very substantial clause would be needed, explaining how a charity could become a non-charity. What is in front of us applies if it ““ceases to be charitable””. I do not believe that can possibly happen under what we understand as charitable law. If it were passed as such, I do not understand how that fundamental would come along at all. I do not believe there is such a thing as a former charity. In the examples given, it seems to me that if somebody took the view that they have an asset that now has charitable status but felt that the asset could not be operated under charity law, it would be their duty to sell that asset. They could sell a school and, provided it was sold at proper value, no doubt the original charity could dispense bursaries and do all sorts of charitable activity. I would like it to be explained to me, if possible, whether there is a route back from charitable status. If there is a route back, it is not just about this; it is about the whole complex of charities. Once you have taken a five pound note out of your pocket and handed it over, that is charitable money. As I understand it, there is no route back. If there is a route back, I would like to have it explained to me. If there is an intention that there should be a route back, it will need a lot of clauses beyond this and a heck of a lot of thinking about.