Frequently Asked Questions

Below you will find popular questions we get asked through our Advice Line. Click on one of these to be taken to the answer...

1. I understand that Community Matters has a recommended insurance company. Please can we have contact details?


2. Does a suspended member have any rights to attend/participate in an AGM if it is held during the period of the suspension? And what if the meeting is re-scheduled because it is inquorate and the suspension has been lifted in the interim time, can they then attend/participate?


3. I'm looking for information covering the hire of community buildings do you have anything and does it cover security?


4. A Trustee has enquired about the legality of children taking part in Bingo sessions. We utilize equal chance gaming as described in your Information Sheet on Bingo. Can you advise?


5. We have a group which thinks it is a section of our Association. I am a relatively new trustee but as they set their own fees and we aren’t privy to their accounts I don’t think they are a section. Am I right?


6. Please can you advise me about Data Protection Act/Libel/Slander etc. when discussion in committee is about individual members and the comments made and members’ names then appear in the minutes.


7. We are a charity that provides activities for elderly people, and meals on wheel service. We are trying to raise at least £20,000 for a new mini bus. We have raise £5000 and we would be grateful for any donation.


8. We work closely with Tenant and Residents Associations. One group manages a community centre which we lease to them. They are paying a caretaker to open and lock up the centre. What are the implications for them with employers’ liability insurance etc?


9. Could you let me know the reference on fire retardant requirements on curtains in public buildings please?


10. Does the Visible on-line workbook automatically store work after each session?


11. An EGM has been called for this Friday - 4 days’ notice! Our Constitution, based on what Community Matters provided, requires 28 days’ notice. What action can the Membership take to cancel this meeting & re-arrange another in 28 days?


12. I understand from the FSA (Financial Services Authority) web site that you can provide a model set of rules to help a village Social & Recreation Club become incorporated as an Industrial Provident Society – is this the case?


13. We are a small group of people (around 20 adults and 20 children) who have come out of a structured church and are now operating as far as possible based on a network of friendships and relationships rather than formal structures. We meet twice a month in the youth room of a local Baptist church for tea and cake, and beyond that in each other's homes, or weekends away, or other social events. We have given ourselves a name. Are there any legal implications for us?


14. We are organising an EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting) to discuss the proposed new Constitution. Legally do we need to notify local residents and if so how many weeks’ notice do we need to give and in how many local amenities?


15. I am trying to ascertain what, if any requirements our Community Centre has to carry out regular testing for Legionella. We run a bar, hire out our kitchen where drinks are made and prepared, run food events, wash up dishes etc. in the kitchen.


16. I am the lead officer for a company limited by guarantee with charitable aims. Within the community I serve we have an unincorporated voluntary organisation which concentrates on older people's issues. Their chairperson has recently been in touch to say their income exceeds £5,000 pa and incorporation has been advised. My queries are: Is incorporation necessary and do they have to also become a registered charity? Could my organisation use our structure to support the older people's group without the added pressures for the group of becoming a company/ charity? I am thinking we could set a formal agreement in place to support their activities but we would be accountable.


17. Have set up a community project and need advice on which structure to apply for, charity, Community Interest Company (CIC), Company Limited by Guarantee etc.


18. Our organisation has become incorporated and has a new charity number, what is the procedure to close the old and start the new. Same name of organisation.


19. Can you please clarify responsibility for financial liabilities of Committee members and give some advice on corporation tax?


20. We want to install solar panels and need to know that we are acting within our constitution and are not liable for unforeseen tax.

Answers

Question 1.
Yes we do. Finance Redirect Insurance services. Visit our website www.communitymatters.org.uk/Insurance for more information and to complete the on-line quote form for a Community Insurance Scheme or call Finance Redirect on 01234 358535 or we can mail you a hard copy of the quotation form.

Question 2.
If the member is suspended then the suspension stands and they are not able to attend or participate in the AGM. However, if the meeting is rescheduled and their suspension has been lifted then they may attend and participate at the reconvened meeting

Question 3.
We have a standard model that you can use for the Rules and Hiring Agreement for a Community Centre. If you are a member of Community Matters you can download this from the member’s area free of charge. It deals with safety requirements and supervision which are all elements of security. Non member organisations can download a copy for just £2 from our website.

Question 4.
It is acceptable for children to play bingo when it is a non commercial activity; which the equal chance gaming is.

Question 5.
We have an Information Sheet on Affiliated Groups and Sections. If you are members you can download this free from our website. For non-members there is a small charge of £4 to download.

Question 6.
As a general rule if an item is of a sensitive nature it should be minuted separately and those minutes of a confidential nature should be kept securely stored and not made generally available. The CA should have a policy about confidentiality.

The purpose of minutes is really to record the decisions that are made and does not need to be a verbatim record of who said what to whom unless there is a particular point(s) that needs to be recorded e.g. if a lengthy discussion is held discussing various options a brief resume of the options might be helpful as well as recording the decision eventually made; or a person specifically requests that they want what they have said to be recorded.

Both of these measures should go some way to mitigating opportunities for accusations of libel and slander. With regard to Data Protection you can download technical guidance from our website: free to members or £4 for non-members.

Question 7.
Thank you for your enquiry. I am afraid that Community Matters is not an organisation that is able to give funds. However, there is a helpful database hosted by NCVO which gives information about sources of funding: www.fundingcentral.org.uk

Question 8.
If the organisation has an employee they should take out Employers Liability Insurance. We have an Information Sheet on Insurance for Community Organisations, which is available free to members to download from our website: www.communitymatters.org.uk/adviceandsupport If you are not a member then it can be purchased for £4 from the website.

If the organisation is also unsure of its responsibilities as an Employer we also have an extensive series of Information Sheets on Employment matters that they may find useful.

Question 9.
If you go to the website of the Government Department for Business Innovation and Skills - you can download a copy of the Guide to the Furniture and Furnishings Fire Safety Regulations on the website which should give you the information that you require: www.bis.gov.uk/files/file24685.pdf

Question 10.

Question 11.
Regarding the EGM, which has been called by only providing 4 days’ notice as opposed to the 28 days’ notice legally required under your constitution will be an illegal meeting and therefore no decisions can be made or if any are they cannot be implemented.

The Management Committee should cancel the meeting on the grounds that insufficient notice has been given. Members should be contacted as soon as possible and a notice put on the entrance of the venue. Members of the Management Committee should turn up at the venue and explain to any members turning up why the meeting has been cancelled. If for any reason this cannot be achieved then the Management Committee must explain to all members present that the EGM cannot go ahead because it has not been called according to your constitution, which is a legal binding document and not something that can be ignored. If the Management Committee insists on going ahead with the EGM then any members present can state that the meeting is illegal and should be stopped.

Question 12.
The FSA web-site is out of date and we have repeatedly told them to remove this information from their site, as we no longer promote or provide this model. We provide a standard set of Articles as part of a Trading Separation package for bars/social clubs - however they are Articles for a Company Ltd by Shares (where the charity is the shareholder) which is registered with Companies House as opposed to the FSA.

Question 13.
In relation to your question as long as your coming together is purely for family and/or friendship then you have not legally created an unincorporated association (group) and therefore there are no legal implications. If you are coming together for any other common purpose then you have created a group.

You appear to be calling yourself a group and to have some sort of membership and this also leads me to think that legally you have created an unincorporated association whether you intended to or not. This being the case it would be prudent to explore insurance issues (particularly for trips out). The Baptist Church where you meet should have insurance in place and should inform you of health, safety and fire procedures but you will need to have something in place for when you go out and do other activities. Safeguarding children and young people will have to be looked at and at least some of the adults involved (if not all) undergo a CRB check. As a group you do not need to have a bank account and if you do not intend to do any fundraising for the group then that's fine. Your local Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) may be able to provide a face-to-face session to go through these issues with you.

Question 14.
You will need to look at your governing document (your constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association) to obtain the answers to these questions. The governing document should tell you the period of notice you need to give for an EGM and to whom and where you circulated it. If the Association has a membership scheme, it would usually be a requirement to inform all of your members of an EGM rather than all local residents and to give them notice of an EGM in accordance with the number of days specified in the governing document . It all depends on exactly what it says in your governing document about this and the calling of an EGM.

Question 15.
Regarding your enquiry about testing for Legionella under the law you have a duty to consider the risks from Legionella that may affect your staff (paid and unpaid) or members of the public includes your users and members) and take suitable precautions.

There are a number of things for you to consider and obviously the first one is to do with identifying and assessing sources of risk. Whether or not you need to carry out regular testing will depend on what your risk assessment shows but most Community Centres do not have to do this.

The Health and Safety Executive has an excellent leaflet on 'Legionnaires' disease: a guide for employers, which you can download at www.hse.gov.uk

Question 16.
With reference to your enquiry there are a number of points:

1. It is really important that the group dealing with issues re older people make the decision as to whether they want to remain completely independent. This needs to be looked at as a whole - about all their current and possible future activities and vision and not solely around registering as a Charity.
2. If the group decides to remain totally independent and the main purposes of the group are charitable as defined by the Charities Act, Charity Commission and their income is more than £5,000 per year then they must register with the Charity Commission unless they are exempt. From the information given I do not believe they would be exempt.
3. Being a Charity is a legal status and not a structure.
4. Incorporation is really up for the group to then decide. It is generally advised if a group owns/leases property and employs staff. The group needs all the information re advantages and disadvantages of incorporation. You can access more information on this via community matters online information and guidance sheets.
5. If the group decided that it did not wish to continue as a totally independent group then your organisation could take on the running and support of this group as long as you have the power to do so in your Memorandum and Articles.

Question 17.
When an organisation is exploring what legal structure will suit it best, the size and nature of the organisation along with its activities often determines or shapes the most suitable legal vehicle. We have Online guidance which explores the advantages and disadvantages of the most common types of legal structures that operate in the voluntary and community sector, which is available for download to our members here. You may find it useful to call our advice line on 0845 847 4253 from 09.30 to 13.00 on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays to speak directly to an adviser.

Question 18.
We understand that the community centre incorporated back in 2002 but that the incorporation procedure was not followed and the Charity application had to be submitted in 2010 to rectify matters. You should write to the Charity Commission submitting accounts from the time showing a transfer to the company and a subsequent nil balance plus any relevant minutes from a general meeting. If you do not have this paperwork, you should still write to the Commission outlining that you require the old unincorporated association removing from their central register.

Question 19.
Committee Members / Liabilities:
As long as the decision to incur a liability on behalf of the organisation was properly made in accordance with its constitution, then each and every committee member shares the responsibility for that liability (unless the terms of the agreement incurring the liability specify otherwise). Management Committee members/Trustees have a right under the Trustee Act 2000 to look to the organisations’ assets for reimbursement of any liabilities properly incurred. In most circumstances both the responsibility and the right to reimbursement remain even after a committee member has retired (but note that this is not the case when the liability stems from a contract of employment - any claims against them under that contract are against the management committee as it stood at the time the contract was breached). The concern for committee members is that, in the absence of any relevant insurance, they will have to meet any debts and liabilities out of their own pocket if the organisation cannot meet them. This will not be the case where the debts and liabilities have been incurred on the basis that the other party has agreed that they will only have to be met if there are sufficient funds in the organisation to do so. For example, this type of clause is sometimes included in property leases. If the liabilities of the organisation are more than the management committees personal assets, the trustees themselves could be forced into personal bankruptcy or individual voluntary arrangements.

A Treasurer has responsibilities / duties and has to comply with the instruction of the management committee. The management committee should ensure there are adequate financial controls in place and regular finance reports from the Treasurer. Further guidance on financial controls and the duties of a treasurer are available to our members to download here

Generally, limited companies and some unincorporated organisations are liable for Corporation Tax on their taxable profits. However, activities carried out by charities are not subject to Corporation Tax requirements, provided any income generated from those activities arises from or is applied to charitable purposes. This is known as being 'exempt' from Corporation Tax deadlines and requirements.

Exempt activities of charities include:

• trading profits generated where those profits arise from and are applied to charitable purposes
• profits from any fundraising events provided that those profits are applied to charitable purposes

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) defines charitable purposes as carrying out the primary purpose of the charity and/or directly serving the beneficiaries of the charity. Generally, if you meet the various HMRC requirements, Charities are not liable for Corporation Tax and they don't need to complete a Company Tax Return.

As the organisation is not a registered Charity, I would imagine you will be liable for corporation tax on any taxable profits and I would recommend contacting HMRC for further clarification.

Question 20.
Having looked at your Memorandum & Articles and I cannot see anything that is particularly pertinent regarding solar panels and taxation. It is much more likely that if you lease your premises the lease may contain something. I would advise you to look at this document and ensure whether you are able to do this without written consent from the landlord. Your Accountant or Independent Examiner should be able to advise further on the matter of taxation.