Submission concerning non public funds
Dear Air Cadet Organisation,
ACO – Charitable status
All ATC Squadron Committees and Schools with ATC Squadrons are accorded charitable status, most as Excepted Charities, but the Air Cadet Organisation itself is not a charity.
1. Therefore in line with the provisions of the Charities Act 2011, where specifically does the ACO get its authority over charities?
2. Where there is no requirement for Excepted Charities to make a financial submission to the Charity Commission (except under direct request of the Charity Commission), under what authority does the ACO demand information from charities?
Section 30(2)(b) and Section 161 of Charities Act 2011 refers.
3. For what specific purpose are details of charitable funds required and collated by the ACO?
Yours faithfully,
Chris Brown
Dear Mr Brown,
Your Freedom of Information request regarding submission concerning non
public funds, has been logged under our reference 2015/10320 and the
target date for response is 18 Dec 2015
Yours sincerely
Information Rights team
Ministry of Defence
Dear Mr Brown,
Please find attached a response to your recent Freedom of Information
request.
Yours sincerely,
Air Director Resources Secretariat
Dear Air-DRes Sec-ParliBusiness (MULTIUSER),
The request for clarification relates to the fact that as Excepted Charities, Squadron Committees are NOT required by Charity law to submjt returns to the Charity Commission, where assets are less than £100,000, and yet the ACO is insistent that returns are made, and is prepared to operate sanctions against those who do not comply.
My request has been submitted, with the benefit of possession of both ACP11 and ACP10, where ACP11, is quite ambiguous in many instances. The ACO claims, in the social media, that Squadron Committees have Trustees accountable to the Charity Commission, and yet the impression that one gets is that they are somehow accountable to the ACO.
I find it difficult to believe that no information is available. Clearly there should be direct reference to the Charity Act 2011, where the ACO is able to substantiate its position following legal consultation and the recent review of ACP11, or else there would be a direct link to the Royal Warrant and any rules promulgated there under, AND fully minuted by the Air Cadet Council.
After nearly 75 years of existence, and the ACO does not hold information on something which has been essential to its' entire existence is rather odd.
The question then still stands, and clarification will be of benefit to all the members of what now numbers over 1000 Committees, and which then translates to a minimum of 3000 individuals in executive positions on those Committees.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Brown
Dear Mr Brown,
Please find attached a response to your recent communication.
Yours sincerely
Air Director Resources Secretariat
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kenneth holden left an annotation ()
Chris, one point to answer is that the Air Training Corps itself is a registered Charity..you can see their Accounts on the Charities Commission Website.
Your Squadron is also a registered Charity..a separate registration from the Air Training Corps registration...and you have Trustees of that Charity. Recent History has revealed to us all that the Air Training Corps have never really understood the separation..nor that the AP 1919 Rules separate Civilian Volunteers from the Dictat of those in Uniform...or that the ACO have to behave themselves when they ,in ignorance ,try to enforce Squadron Civilian Staff and those on Town Commitees to do what they are told.
A second point is that the Respondees(those you have written to) do have almost everything that for full information,you might be expected to have received from them.....Minutes of Meetings...Correspondence(extensive) from Ian Todd and the Charities Commission....to have enabled him to have produced this new version of ACP11. Every one else has seen them! You may wish to continue in your enquiries.
You and yours need to examine Acp11 to see what has changed since the basic ACP 11.. You might ask Mr Todd himself and his thoughts on the strategies involved.
My personal interest in this is that ,as a Treasurer of my own Squadron..I absolutely refuse to submit Form 60 ..because of the threat of suspension of all Cadet activity until I have done so....
Look at Mr Todd.....
"While this rests heavily on our shoulders..it works."
That is what he said to me..I have the correspondence.!
That is what MOD replied to us through our MP..also..and I have no doubt they took the advice from the ACO...and Mr Todd.
Rest assured..I will, with cooperation from my own Squadron, ....Never send the Form in on time....a trivial matter..the form is ready to go by the 8 th of the following month...but it goes in in September ,when we get suspended...
...And perhaps we can hope that this "Civil War" can end ..with the change of Personnel at the top.
May I now turn to the Form...it functionally is useless. It seems perhaps to be part of your interest in your FOI Request .I believe,with good faith,the ACO is entitled to request it..but it has turned into another strategic arena where those charged with the responsibility for its completion,are not doing it..and so the ACO have found a way to persuade them...THREAT. They have also had other problems with Town Committees not doing what they wished them to do in other Squadrons,and in ignorance, in certain Squadrons..
attempted to 'sack' the Committees.and failed.
Mr Todd has been charged to produce a new ACP 11 that is now sufficiently confusing enough..to expect the average Volunteer on a Town Committee to move aside when challenged.
And here we all are....
Chris..if anyone in the ACO including I can ally please let us know..
Kenneth Holden FCA.Treasurer 328(Kingston Upon Thames )Squadron...