Background to the Act

The Charities Bill was first introduced to the Assembly on 21 June 2021, with the aim of amending the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 to make the majority of Commission staff decisions lawful and establish the ability for the Commission to delegate some types of decisions to staff in future.

The Bill was introduced following the Court of Appeal ruling of February 2020 in the case of McKee & Others v Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. The judgment addressed a technical point of law, namely that all Commission orders and decisions should have been made by the Board of Commissioners or a committee to include Commissioners with delegated authority, rather than Commission staff following manuals approved by Commissioners.

While the judgment did not relate to the reasoning behind any decisions made, it did have significant implications for past decisions and on how the Commission operated going forward. For example, the judgment rendered just over 7,200 orders, directions and decisions taken by Commission staff unlawful and further prevented Commission staff from performing functions under the 2008 legislation.

While a permanent solution was sought, the Commission’s work and oversight of the charity sector continued with adjustments made to Commission procedures to comply with the court judgment. This meant that while some Commission decisions were delayed and the volume of decisions made temporarily reduced, work on applications, requests and queries was – and is - ongoing.

However, these procedures have limited the decision making efficiency of the Commission. The Bill finished its progress through the Assembly on 8 February 2022 and received Royal Assent on 30 March 2022, the final stage in the legislative process. This means it is now come into effect as The Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. This new Act will permit the Commission to put more effective and efficient procedures in place first.