Charity Commission for Northern Ireland launches public consultation

A series of new and updated questions are to be added to the charity registration application and the Annual Return Regulations 2019, under the latest proposals from the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.

The Commission, Northern Ireland’s charity regulator, has opened a public consultation on the questions, which are intended to gather a range of information on the charity sector.

The questions cover areas which are of particular significance to the sector, the wider public and the regulator itself, such as safeguarding, data protection and fundraising.

“We have carefully drafted a series of questions which will help us gather important data on both individual charities and the charity sector as a whole. These questions will be asked when a charity registers with the Commission and each time a charity provides its accounts and reports,” explained Myles McKeown, the Commission’s Head of Monitoring & Enquiries.

“For example the issue of safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk of harm in Northern Ireland charities is a prominent one. To support our role as charity regulator and help us have a better oversight of this issue, we have added new questions on safeguarding in the registration application.”

All of the new, and amended, questions to be included in the registration application and the Annual Return Regulations 2019 are available to view in the consultation document, available here.

However, the public consultation will focus on the most significant questions only, offering interested parties an opportunity to share their views on the proposed changes.

Mr McKeown added: “We hope that as many people as possible will take the time to share their thoughts and views on the changes proposed.

“The new questions may mean completing the registration application and annual return takes a little more time but we hope that gathering this additional information will provide wider benefits, from supporting registration applicants in completing the form to providing new data on the sector.”

The Commission’s consultation opened at 9am on Tuesday 27 August 2019 and will run for eight weeks, closing at 5pm on Tuesday 22 October 2019.

For more information on the consultation, including how you can take part, visit the Current consultations section of www.charitycommissionni.org.uk.

Ends

For more information please contact Shirley Kernan, Charity Commission for Northern Ireland communications officer, on tel: 028 3832 0169, mobile: 07827338978 or email: [email protected]

Notes to editors

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland is the regulator of charities in Northern Ireland, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Social Development.