Clarifying trustee payments and expenses

6th June 2008

The Charity Commission has updated its guidance on trustee payments and expenses, in the light of the Charities Act 2006.

The announcement reads as follows:

The Charities Act 2006 brought in changes which allow charity trustees to be paid for providing their charities with goods and services, and guidance published today by the Charity Commission clarifies how boards should handle both these types of payments and general trustee expenses.

The principle of voluntary trusteeship remains central to trusteeship. The Commission’s updated guidance, Trustee expenses and payments (CC11), confirms this but also provides answers to the most common questions involved when trustee payment becomes an issue, including :

when trustees can be paid for supplying goods and services

what to do about accountability and management of conflicts of interest

when it might be appropriate to pay a trustee for their trusteeship; and

what does and does not count as reasonable expenses

Rosie Chapman, Executive Director of Policy and Effectiveness, said:

“ The voluntary principle of trusteeship remains at the heart of the role. Our updated guidance provides clear and practical advice on all types of trustee payments, and reinforces the importance of clear and transparent reporting in this area. We have taken the opportunity in this updated guidance to explain the new provisions in the Charities Act 2006, which enable charities to pay trustees for providing goods and services.”

Trustee expenses and payments is available from the Commission’s website at www.charitycommission.gov.uk under ‘Publications’.