Some consortia arrangements with commercial organisations are forcing charities to act in a way which is contrary to charity law, warns Jill Steele, the solicitor for the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.

Steele was speaking at the Charity Law Conference in London during a panel session with representatives from the Charity Commission and OSCR, where participants were asked their views on the growing number of consortia arrangements between charities and commercial providers.

Steele said that the Charity Commission Northern Ireland (CCNI) had seen a couple of examples where funders’ requirements were forcing charities to act in a way which was contrary to charity law, but said she was unable to say any more on the issue.

Both David Robb, chief executive of OSCR and Kenneth Dibble, head of legal services at the Charity Commission, said charities partnering with commercial organisations in public service delivery was going to be a big issue in the future.

“It’s one area that we would hope the sector will develop guidance,” said Dibble. “It’s a growing and important area with the importance of economies of scale and funding. It’s going to be an issue for the future, joint funding should probably be encouraged but it does carry issues.”

NCVO is looking at developing a code of practice for contracts involving the private and voluntary sector.