Arising from Mr Mayne's comments on 29 October, do we begin to get a glimmer of another major problem? It was hinted at in his first statement: " We are going to take some additional advice about the best way forward, including how we handle the different approaches taken by the Scottish and English regulators".
We now have the astonishing and, insofar as I am aware, hitherto undisclosed claim that, following its registration in Scotland, the CTC Club in England and Wales "is now required to ensure that the Club is solely charitable in purpose, regardless of where in the UK it operates". In other words, despite rejection of the CTC's application by the Charity Commission, the Club is now, to all intents and purposes a charity, because of its registration in Scotland, and subject to Scottish law.
I am no lawer, but this claim requires some legal clarification to the membership. Is this really true? An application for charitable status in England and Wales is made to the Charity Commission and rejected. However, an application by that same organisation not a charity, made to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), is accepted, which de facto makes the CTC Club a charity in England and Wales; in Mr Mayne's words: "required to ensure that its purpose is solely charitable".
Charitable status is denied by the CC in England and Wales, but accepted by the OSCR in Scotland. What monster has been born of this unholy congress?
Can somebody pleade explain the Charity Commission's guidance on 'English and Welsh charities working in Scotland'? Under the heading 'Can Scottish charities register with the Charity Commission as well?' the guidance states: "No. A Scottish charity is one that is set up under Scots law and registered with OSCR. This means that we cannot register Scottish charities. We can only register charities that are established under the law in England and Walesa and so are subject to our jurisdiction'.
By the definition above, it would seem that, if the this charity was set up under Scots law and registered with OSCR, the CTC is now a Scottish charity. Was it set up under Scots law? If registration as a charity in England and Wales had been obtained first, perhaps there would be no problem.
As for the Charity Commission's letter of rejection, that I would expect to be a reasoned justification of its decision, not a negotiating stance. In the light of the present ambiguity of the CTC's constitutional status, it is now even more crucial that members see what the CC letter says.
For those with more than a passing interest, here are two links, one to the Charity Commission and one to the CTC entry (29 August 2011) on the OSCR register of charities. I'm sure that there must be some very good reason why the CTC's gross income is recorded as £0 and that of the CTC Charitable Trust as £4,535,101.
http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Charity_requirements_guidance/Your_charitys_activities/Working_internationally/working_in_scotland.aspxhttp://www.oscr.org.uk/search-charity-register/charity-extract/?charitynumber=SC042541There does seem to be a puzzling and obdurate refusal to be open with members that is corrosive of trust and confidence in what is being done in their name. It is so unnecessary.
I apologise for the length of this post and for my legal naivety. I am just trying to understand.