Clarifying trustee payments and expenses

(Immediate Release - 06 June 2008)

The Charities Act 2006 brought in changes which allow charity trustees to be paid for providing their charities with goods and services, and guidance published today by the Charity Commission clarifies how boards should handle both these types of payments and general trustee expenses.

The principle of voluntary trusteeship remains central to trusteeship. The Commission’s updated guidance, Trustee expenses and payments (CC11), confirms this but also provides answers to the most common questions involved when trustee payment becomes an issue, including :

• when trustees can be paid for supplying goods and services
• what to do about accountability and management of conflicts of interest
• when it might be appropriate to pay a trustee for their trusteeship; and
• what does and does not count as reasonable expenses

Rosie Chapman, Executive Director of Policy and Effectiveness, said:

“ The voluntary principle of trusteeship remains at the heart of the role. Our updated guidance provides clear and practical advice on all types of trustee payments, and reinforces the importance of clear and transparent reporting in this area. We have taken the opportunity in this updated guidance to explain the new provisions in the Charities Act 2006, which enable charities to pay trustees for providing goods and services.”

Trustee expenses and payments is available from the Commission’s website at www.charitycommission.gov.uk under ‘Publications’.

End.

Notes to editors:

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator for charitable activity in England and Wales. For more information see our website at www.charitycommission.gov.uk.
2. The Charities Act 2006 introduced a limited power to allow trustees to be paid for providing goods and services to their charity, as long as strict conditions are met. This provision came into effect in February 2008.

For more information, please contact our Press Office.

PR 19/08