§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many charities registered with the Charity Commission have failed to submit accounts for the last financial year; and if he will express this figure as a percentage of the total number of charities registered with the commission;
(2) how many of the charities registered with the Charity Commission have submitted annual accounts that have been professionally audited.
§ Mr. John PattenSome 12 per cent. of registered charities submitted accounts to the commission in 1989, However, under the Charities Act 1960 only charities possessing a permanent endowment are required to submit accounts annually without request. In addition, some of these are excepted by order or regulations from the need to submit accounts. In the circumstances it is not possible to say how many charities obliged to submit accounts yearly failed to do so.
Information about the number of registered charities which have submitted annual accounts that have been professionally audited is not readily available. There is at present no general statutory obligation for the accounts of a charity to be professionally audited, although those charities which are companies have to be audited under companies' legislation. In addition, some charities are required to have their accounts audited by their own governing instruments; and the Charity Commissioners may, at their own expense, order an audit of a charity's accounts.
Our proposals for reforming the law on the submission and auditing of charity accounts are contained in chapter 4 of the White Paper "Charities: A Framework for the Future" published in May last year. Our main proposals are that in future all registered charities should be required to submit proper accounts annually to the Commission; that trustees should be obliged to make copies of their charity's statement of account available to the public on request; and that large charities should be required to have their accounts professionally audited.