The Northern Ireland (NI) government will introduce a registration threshold for charities in the country following a public consultation and the introduction of the Charities Act (NI) 2022.
Earlier this month, communities minister Gordon Lyons approved the introduction of a registration threshold, meaning that in the future, smaller charities may not need to register.
This follows the introduction of the Charities Act (NI) 2022, which includes a power for the Department for Communities to introduce a registration threshold through regulations, and a 12-week public consultation.
Currently, all charities in NI are required to register with the Charity Commission for NI and must provide an annual report and accounts to the commission for publication on its website.
The department will now bring forward the regulations so that charities with an annual income of £20,000 or less and assets of £100,000 or less will fall under the registration threshold.
The regulations should be introduced in the autumn.
12-week consultation
The outcome of a 12-week consultation, carried out between 20 May 2024 and 11 August, shows that over two-thirds of respondents felt the threshold should be based on a combination of income of £20,000 and assets.
“The most common suggested asset value was £100,000, which was recommended by 19 respondents (12 charities, three individuals and four organisations),” the document reads.
Four-fifths of respondents agreed that a charity should be required to provide evidence to the commission that its income falls below the threshold before it can apply to deregister.
Over seven in 10 believed the commission should retain the same powers to act for the protection of charities and provide the same services to charities that are not registered due to the threshold.
A similar number said the commission should have the power to order any documents from any organisation to determine charitable status and jurisdiction.
Just over two-thirds argued that charities falling below the threshold and choosing not to register should be required to state their status.
Nearly three-fifths thought that the threshold for future template reporting and removal of the independent examination requirement should align with the registration threshold of £20,000.
Meanwhile, just over two-fifths said it should be just the income element of £25,000 as recommended by the independent review.
Commission: ‘There’s a lot of work to do’
The Charity Commission for NI said “there’s a lot of work to do” to ensure it can “carry out the law as it’s written”.
It will develop a new IT system that will enable the de-registration of smaller charities and update its internal manuals and processes to prepare for the registration threshold.
In addition, the commission will develop and publish clear guidance to help charities understand how the changes will affect them and their options around registration.
“We’d encourage all charities to sign up to the commission’s newsletter, and keep an eye on our website, to ensure you don’t miss any updates or alerts around the registration threshold,” it said in a statement.
The commission added that further details will be shared once the regulations are finalised.
“Once the regulations are made, the commission will be able to provide updates as things progress, including expected timescales as well as guides to help charities understand what the change means for them.”
Related articles
