As I reread the details in the booklets from the Charity Commission it became increasingly
clear that the minor tinkering done last year was inadequate. I got from the Suffolk
Naturalists' Society website their Rules document that was very useful in some places (eg
3.1 and 3.4 in the Objects, 10.7 in the Finance). The model outline suggested by the
Charity Commission still had lots of bits not in ours at all. I made a better document at
that stage, but it was clear there were still many questions to ask. I phoned the Charity
Commission with their model outline in one hand and our modified Rules in the other,
and went through a lot of the sections with them. The results were as follows.
1. A lot of extra contingencies had not been specified, eg dissolution of the Club (see
17), and lots of extra mandatory details, eg suitability of a person to be on the Council
(see 5), prescribed powers of the Council (see 6), no personal interest of those on the
Council (see 7), nasty members being expelled (see 9.3) and several others you will
spot, that had to be part of the document.
2. The wording was in some places inadequately defined, eg Essex in 3.1, so phrases had
to be added, and who could hold the titles of investments, property etc as in 10.5 and
again in 14. Some bits were too tightly defined, and needed extra phrases to allow for
minor deviations from the norm. These are often in brackets, as in 4.3, 8.1, and many
other places.
3. Extra recent information had been passed to me by two other members of Council.
One referred to the impending requirement in the Annual Report of evidence to show
how effective a charity is, so this is in at 11.9. The other referred to the increasing
need for Trustees to have indemnity insurance, and gave detailed wording of how to
say it, so these are in at 10.8, and referred to also in 7 (vi). This protection is increasingly
needed, as people will often not come forward for being a trustee because of the
unwillingness to expose themselves to the litigation risks.
4. A number of tiny details had to be changed, such as Annual Report not Annual Report
of Council at 11.1 and several places following. This one is because it has to be the
report of the whole Charity, not just what Council has done. Another requirement is
for all committees to have minutes taken, and presented at the next full meeting of
Council. Most of these little bits are not particularly onerous, but we have to do them!
The document was sent to our auditor, who made a number of very useful comments.
Then it was discussed by Council at their meeting on 12th November, 2003. A few minor
corrections and clarifications were made. The new document is the result of all this
consultation.
The Council accepted unanimously the revised document and strongly recommended
that this should be adopted at the AGM. Please read it all carefully. There will be
opportunities for questions at the AGM, and I shall try to answer them. If you want to
contact me in advance with questions, please feel free to do so, either by phoning 01708
228921 or email to mary@smith33gpr.fsnet.co.uk. If you can ask me before the AGM, it
will perhaps save some time at the meeting.
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 43, January 2004
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