Kevin Mayne wrote:Sent to CTC volunteer networks on Friday 6th January
Message from the Chair of CTC Council about the progress of CTC Charitable conversion
Progress of CTC Charitable conversion
You may have been contacted in the last few days about progress with the conversion of Cyclists’ Touring Club to a charity as agreed at the 2010 AGM. A copy of an email from the Charity Commission of England and Wales (CCEW) rejecting CTC’s application for registration has been circulated.
The purpose of this email is to clarify the Council’s position in relation to that correspondence. It is in fact the decision we received in the autumn and does not contain any new information. A similar application has been approved by the Scottish regulators and CTC is now registered as a charity in Scotland. This means we are already subject to charity regulation and have to act as a charity in everything Cyclists’ Touring Club does.
Since receiving the CCEW decision we have taken extensive legal advice and consulted with other partners in the voluntary sector.
The consistent advice we have received is that it is highly unusual for an application to be passed in Scotland while not in England and any charity that can pass the public benefit test in Scotland should do so in England and Wales.
Our legal advisors are currently drafting our application for a review of the CCEW decision on a number of grounds. After application the review may take up to three months but we are encouraged that all our advice has consistently said that our application to become a charity is robust, not least because it is already proven in Scotland.
When considering membership organisations such as the London Cycling Campaign and the RSPB which are comparable to the CTC and already have charitable status in England and Wales, we feel confident that we will succeed in due course and remain committed to achieving registration.
In wider terms the Council is reporting the end of a relatively successful year which as expected has been unaffected by charity matters: finances are on target, we are managing the transition out of high levels of government funding, member benefits and campaigning continue.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me on david.cox@ctc.org.uk
Best cycling regards for 2012.
David Cox
Chair of CTC Council
January 5th 2012.
Perhaps Kevin or David would like to clarify why the correspondence from the CCEW was not shared with all the directors of the club when it was received?
The consistent advice we have received is that it is highly unusual for an application to be passed in Scotland while not in England and any charity that can pass the public benefit test in Scotland should do so in England and Wales.
It is indeed unsual - and in fact, there are grounds to suggest that the Club should not have been registered in Scotland before it was registered in England and Wales. I am aware that the OSCR is being asked to review its decision to grant charitable status.
Our legal advisors are currently drafting our application for a review of the CCEW decision on a number of grounds. After application the review may take up to three months but we are encouraged that all our advice has consistently said that our application to become a charity is robust
The advice that you've had so far seems to be completely off the mark. Have you gone to new legal advisers for the review application?