The Regulator for Charities in England and Wales
The Government has introduced two important pieces of legislation which have significance for everyone in the UK, including charities. They are the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998. There are also proposals to introduce a new Freedom of Information Act, building on the existing Code of Practice on Access to Official Information.
These pages provide access to the internal guidance we have produced for our own staff, and explains where you can go to obtain further information, including links to the relevant government departments.
The legislation brings significant benefits to all organisations and individuals in the UK but it will also place new responsibilities on all organisations that hold personal information and on public bodies. The definitions of public bodies contained in the legislation are wide. They vary in detail between the different pieces of legislation but it is clear that they embrace at least some charities.
We want charities to be aware of and understand this legislation. Trustees of charities who come within the scope of the new Acts should take time to familiarise themselves with the new provisions. We included an article about this, entitled “New legislation” in the autumn 1999 edition of Charity Commission News
It is our policy to be as open as we possibly can about our work. For example we are now undertaking a major project to make our internal written guidance available to the public via our web site.
We also make available the background and responses to policy discussions and consultations (unless specifically asked not to do so by our correspondents).
The Code of Practice is about access to information on government policies and administrative decisions, not access to specific records. However, we will consider providing access to records where that is the most appropriate and efficient way of providing the information. Our guidance on Access to Charity Commission Records explains when we can and cannot provide access.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 received Royal Assent in November 2000. Implementation of the Act will be finalised between 2002-2005 starting with Government Departments. It will have far reaching consequences, both for individual citizens and for bodies across the public sector.
As well as public authorities, such as those in central and local government, it will also apply to non-departmental public bodies and private organisations carrying out public functions. This means that some charities will be regarded as public authorities for the purposes of the Act. Some organisations (such as educational bodies) that will be affected are listed in Schedule 1 of the Act. Other organisations will be brought within the scope of the Act by order of the Secretary of State. The main feature of the Act is a general right of access to information held by public authorities in the course of carrying out their public functions. All organisations caught by the legislation will be subject to greater public scrutiny. The aim of the Act is to strike a balance between extending people's access to official information whilst preserving confidentiality where disclosure would be against the public interest. There are matters, such as national security and personal privacy for example, where information has to be protected but the overall emphasis of the Act is on disclosure.
If your charity carries out a public function for a government department but you are unsure as to whether it will be caught by this legislation we would advise you to contact that department for clarification.
The Human Rights Act 1998 came fully into force on 2 October 2000. Human rights cases can now be brought in UK courts and all public authorities in the UK (including the Charity Commission) have to act in a way which is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
We recognise the importance of our obligations under the Human Rights Act and a copy of our internal guidance on this is available (OG71).
The Human Rights Act gives every citizen statutory rights based on the European Convention on Human Rights, which can be enforced against public authorities and private bodies carrying out public functions. The Human Rights Act will therefore have implications for some voluntary organisations, including charities. Not only will charities be able to benefit from those rights, where they are regarded as a public authority for the purposes of the Human Rights Act they may also have responsibilities. Our internal guidance includes guidance on how we believe the Human Rights Act will affect some charities (OG71 B3).
However, (as with Freedom of Information) if your charity carries out a public function for a government department but you are unsure as to whether the European Convention on Human Rights will have implications for your work, we would advise you to contact that department for clarification and not just rely on the guidance we have produced.
To obtain further information about human rights there are a number of websites and helplines that you may find useful. These include:
The Home Office Human Rights Unit: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/hract
This site contains material on the Human Rights Act, Parliamentary questions, frequently asked questions, and other material relating to the Human Rights Task Force, the Human Rights Act and international human rights instruments.
The Home Office Human Rights Helpline: Telephone: 0207 273 2166
The Council of Europe, Human Rights Directorate: http://www.humanrights.coe.int/default.htm This site contains details of the Council’s work in the human rights field.
The European Court of Human Rights: http://www.echr.coe.int/
This site contains details of the European Court of Human Rights’ judgements.
The Data Protection Act 1998 came into force on 1 March 2000. It regulates the collection and use of personal information and allows individuals access to personal information that organisations hold about them. It affects all organisations (not just public authorities) that use information about individuals. The Act seeks to ensure that organisations that use information about living people (data controllers) do so in accordance with certain specified principles so as to protect the civil liberties of the person who is the data subject.
A copy of our internal guidance on the Data Protection Act 1998 is available (OG58). This also includes material on how the Data Protection Act 1998 might affect charities (OG58 A4).
Further information about the Data Protection Act 1998 can be obtained from the Data Protection Commissioner by calling 01625 545 745 or via their web site http://www.dataprotection.gov.uk/dprhome.htm