The Charity Commission has published its case report into
campaigning and political issues arising in the run-up to the 2015
General Election'. The Commission expressly highlights that the
report only considers the charity law position, rather than the
position under electoral law (and in particular the Lobbying Act
2014).
Under charity law, charities are able to engage in campaigning and
political activities to further their purposes and which they can
justify. Often campaigning can be a valuable and effective way for
charities to help their beneficiaries. However, charities must
maintain their independence and must never engage in party
political activity.
During the 9 month period before the 2015 General Election
(September 2014 to 7 May 2015), the Charity Commission dealt with
17 cases relating to concerns about non-compliance by charities.
Most were not considered serious breaches of guidance and were
dealt with promptly.
22 further complaints were raised with the Charity Commission but
these were considered to not require regulatory action or were
requests for advice from charities. Certain of these related to
candidates or the media using information from or about charities
in their materials, without the charity's consent, which caused
a perception that the charity endorsed the candidate or
party.
Considering the issues raised, it appears that many occurred
because charities (and all of their trustees, staff and volunteers)
were not aware of the Charity Commission's guidance on
campaigning and political activity. For example, several charities
displayed posters in favour of a particular candidate at charity
premises or tweeted political messages. Several charities were also
inadvertently linked with a candidate's campaign through a
character reference or a photo of a charity official being included
in a candidate's manifesto.
The full report is available here.
The Charity Commission's guidance on campaigning and political
activity is available here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
