Issue - meetings

To advise the Committee on progress.

The General Manager, Mr Holder, advised the meeting that since 1995 he had been given to believe by the Charity Commission that a Section 36 order was required to be submitted to them whereby the charity would be authorised to grant the Firoka Group (the preferred investment partner) a long lease.   Mr Holder went on to outline the recent history in relation to the request for wider powers by Alexandra Palace Charitable Trust and the coming into force of the statutory instrument containing those powers. The Charities (Alexandra Park and Palace) Order 2004 empowered the Trustees, subject to the consent by Order of the Charity Commissioners, to grant a lease of the whole or part or parts of the Palace and its immediate surrounding area. The process to select an investment partner had been undertaken by the Charity Trustees with the benefit of extensive and comprehensive professional advice.  At the Board’s Special Meeting on 27 March 2006 the Board resolved to authorise commencement of detailed negotiations with Firoka and to seek a Section 36 Order from the Charity Commission.  The Board subsequently, at its meeting on 24 July 2006, approved draft documentation and delegated authority for drafting changes to the General Manager. 

Mr Holder advised that the Commission had invited the Trustees to apply for a scheme which would authorise the trustees to grant a lease to Firoka (Alexandra Palace) Limited.  Mr Holder explained that technically in the current context there were two relevant mechanisms whereby a lease could be authorised.  The first was by means of a scheme containing an order under Section 16 of the Charities Act 1993.  The second was by an Order under Section 36 of the Charities Act 1993.  Mr Holder commented that the Commission had now indicated that the former mechanism would be appropriate because this would give a legal basis and clear procedure for giving public notice, inviting and considering representations.  This process also accorded with an undertaking given by the Minister during the course of the parliamentary debate in January 2004 on what became the 2004 SI. On that occasion the Minister indicated that the Commission would publish a draft of the Order and invite and consider representations. The Board then formally agreed the submission of an application for Section 16 Order at a special meeting on 25 October 2006.   Mr Holder also referred the Committee to the draft Order which was tabled.  Mr Holder then went on to outline the process for advertisement whereby the Charity Commission would publish the Section 16 order for in the local, and national press (The Times) with a statutory period of 1 month for responses to be submitted directly to them. Following on from then the Charity Commission would consider any such submissions and either agree the draft order, or seek further clarification from the Trustees. This timescale for process was not prescribed.

Mr Holder also advised that the Board at its meeting on 14 November 2006 would be considering its  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20