Charities And Local Government - New Guidance

In February 2007 the Charity Commission issued guidance to Charities on the delivery of services on behalf of public bodies (CC 37). This replaces the previous guidance 'Charities and Contracts'. This contains a useful run through of the key points charities and public bodies need to consider when entering into contracts to deliver services. We have summarised the key points and issues raised from this guidance in this update which may be useful for public bodies when considering whether to use charities to deliver any of their services.

The government is encouraging increased participation of the voluntary sector in public service delivery as a means of reforming public services. The outsourcing of services can be to a range of bodies such as charities, industrial and provident societies and housing associations. This update looks at some of the issues involved in using charities to deliver these services.

There is no general prohibition on charities delivering public services even if a public body has a legal duty to provide the service provided the local authority retains the "functional discretion". Charities can therefore be used to deliver certain services.

Restrictions on using charities:

Public bodies need to be aware that there are certain restrictions they need to consider when deciding whether a charity is the appropriate vehicle to use to deliver a service:

Charities can provide only services which are 'charitable' and...