Well there is nothing stopping a squadron registering. Crack on.
The important thing is in doing so is divesting from HQAC and I’m not sure they’d go for it.
Well … an increasing number of CWCs are waking up to this option including all those in NI and Scotland which have to register (and are independently registered) by default. It is exactly the right thing to do and actually has nothing to do with HQ-ATC who frankly should rejoice at the news.
Do those squadrons still have to report to HQAC and can they get charity exemptions?
If you have to report to HQAC it seems to be a bit of a waste of effort.
Mate. Just quit the ATC. You clearly don’t want to be in it
3 Likes
To be fair, I think that is a valid question.
IF CWCs were charities independent of HQAC and able to say reclaim VAT on some if not all things, it would put money back into the squadron coffers, where it is much more use. It frustrates me as a CO that we spend money on things that are essential to us operating and can’t get the VAT back, despite supposedly being a charity. There are other grants and money pots out there we can’t easily get into, because of the link to the MOD through HQAC.
"IF CWCs were charities independent of HQAC "
eeer. but they already are … totally.
Much has been written on this and the exception orders that squadrons posses are an old mechanism for convenience. But that never made CWCs part of the ATC. In fact they must not be. The current ACP-11 is an attempt by ATC-HQ to give an impression that this is so, but it simply is not.
So the only benefit of exemption is that your CWC is exempted for providing an annual return to the Charity Commission. That is it. Nothing more nothing less.
Conversely, an Exception Order excepts a body from needing top behave as a fully-fledged charity in al areas. But that is not granted lightly and certainly not to the ATC.
What is the fundamental legal principle that underpins this position?
The ATC itself is not, and cannot be charitable. People use words loosely and other get confused as lines are blurrred. With that established beyond any possible doubt by the MOD, the Charity Commission and in fact (reluctantly in private) ATC-HQ itself, you simply cannot have a non-charitable entity in charge or in anyway influencing a charitable entity full stop.
This does not have any impact on VAT, but it does mean that your - and all - CWCs are frequired to act and free to act responsibly for their own squadron’s benefit. Not the ATC as a whole who have nothing to do with it beyond the cadet programme!