My Lords, Clause 9, which gives the power automatically to disqualify somebody from being a trustee, was the subject of perhaps one of the most contentious of the joint scrutiny committee’s discussions. It was certainly the point on which we received the greatest variety of opinion and which led to some of the most intense arguments from a range of witnesses.
I think that there was general agreement that there are some crimes which are of such seriousness that they should lead to automatic disqualification and that no charity would wish to have somebody who committed them serving as a trustee. We are talking about someone who had been found guilty of crimes of the order set out in Clause 9; for example, making false disclosures and false statements, and disobedience to a direction of the commission on an application to the High Court.
However, the discussion which really brought home the disquiet in the sector was on whether terrorism offences should be a cause for automatic disqualification. Part of the reason why many people in the sector have sought to question these provisions in the Bill, when you might have expected them simply to agree, is some of the past views of the Charity Commission and the way in which they have been expressed. In October 2013 and in early 2014, the current chair of the Charity Commission made statements about the biggest threat to British charities being terrorism. That was a major assertion to make. At that time and since then, there was and has been little evidence of abuse of British charities by terrorist organisations.
The particular problem with those statements was that the Charity Commission chose to make them during Ramadan, which is the biggest charitable fundraising period for Muslim charities. That caused needless and great offence, and the back-draught has coloured people’s vision or view of the power which is now to be given the Charity Commission in Clause 9. That said, there is agreement across the board that there needs to be a tightening up of the grounds on which people can be disbarred.
However, lying in the middle of the clause is the regulation-making power for the Minister—it is the Minister for the Cabinet Office, not the Home Secretary, I note—to add by regulation to the list of offences for which one can automatically be disqualified from being a trustee.
We heard a wide range of views from the witnesses to whom we talked, from the commission being of the view that the provision was necessary for its regulatory functions through to organisations such as ACEVO, which felt that, on balance, the power should be on the statute book but was not likely to feature large in the life of most charities. None the less, there was across the board a sense that charities were being unfairly targeted by the Government, without much evidence that they should be, and that the provisions which relate to terrorism offences are very wide.
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The Joint Committee’s discussion is neatly summed up in paragraphs 203 to 208 of its report. The committee said it was content that this order-making power be available but that the procedure, in particular, the requirement for the Minister to consult quite widely on whether it is appropriate and proportionate to include an offence in the list of qualifying offences, should be included in the Bill. It has not been. That has caused considerable concern around the voluntary sector.
I note that the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee also looked at this power and said that it was content that the Minister should have this power, which is obviously to be used under the affirmative procedure. It also criticised the lack of detail, in particular in relation to commencement and the fact that someone currently serving as a trustee could suddenly find themselves automatically disqualified without much or any notice because that matter is not set out in the Bill or the Explanatory Notes.
The committee accepted, and we accept, that there is a case to ensure that charities are protected by knowing that, if somebody is convicted of any of the offences set out in Clause 9, they will automatically be barred. There are some charities in this country in particular which would find it useful to be able to cite this legislation to try to prevent some people becoming trustees of their organisation, but I wish to challenge the power in subsection (4) in new Section 178A for the Minister—the Minister in the Cabinet Office, not the Home Secretary, I note—to add to this list of offences. We need more detail on the face of the Bill to ensure that this power is used proportionately. I beg to move.