Regulatory Background

Charities Commission

Under the Charities Act 2006 the Church in Wales enjoyed "excepted" status and parishes did not need to register. Under the Charities Act 2011 all charities included parishes and Ministry Areas with income over £100,000 had to register with the Charity Commission. From 31st March 2021 all charities (other than Church in Wales parishes and Ministry Areas ***) with income over £5,000 had to register with the Charity Commission.

With the restructuring to Ministry Areas the single legal entity is the Ministry Area and the charity is therefore the Ministry Area. Former parishes and benefices no longer exist. Most of our new Ministry Areas will meet the threshold for registration. The Diocesan office will provide support to the MAC for the registration process.

*** Important Note: This provision is a short-term extension, and Ministry Areas are increasingly finding that they no longer meet the expectations of outside organisations anticipating Charity Commission Registration compliance e.g. banking institutions; grant making bodies.

For this reason, all Church in Wales Ministry Areas should now register with the Charities Commission, regardless of income levels.

Registration with HMRC

Once Charity Commission registration has been obtained the Ministry Area should register with HMRC ****. Once received, the HMRC should be notified of the change, and the new registration number and cessation of the old one. The new number should then be used on all correspondence with the HMRC and the old parish/benefice registration numbers discarded.

**** Note: In some circumstances existing parish/benefice Charity Commission registrations will be retained, and the remainder of the MA amalgamated into that existing registration. In such cases the HMRC number will also be retained.

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