I’m just curious what you where thinking if you where in one that closed and what sort of procedure does a closure follow?
Merger is now the in thing.
If the Squadron is to be closed then the one thing is that Civ Com assets should not be disbursed to the Wing HQ, but be returned to the cadets in some form. The Civ Com have legal responsibilities under Charity Law for which they maybe held responsible in law and in front of a court. Don’t let Wing or anybody else have the non public assets, that is for the Civ Com to decide, the Wing cannot demand anything legally or morally from them. If the Civ Com do give the money to Wing they maybe breaking Charity law.
Public stores go back to the RAFAC, non-public ie, Squadron owned for which there should be an inventory belong to the Squadron and should be dealt with by the OC and the Civ Com only.
Bob is right here; Squadron owned assets belong to and are managed by the Civcom. So if a unit closes or merges,those assets should follow the Cadets or be returned to the donors.
Any monies raised are done so with the intention of benefiting your own Cadets, and because they remain the property of the Civcom, (listed in a Property register) it is Charity Law which prescribes the duties of Trustees in disposing of assets.
Charity Law makes Trustees accountable for those assets, and regardless of what the ACO might say, it has no majority jurisdiction over dispersal of any assets, because it does not legally own them.
The Trustees/Committee would need to make a minuted decision to wind up the charity and if it were a Registered Charity, it would need to file a return which could identify dispersal of assets to satisfy Charity Law and NOT the ACO.
In what way are you asking?
Are you a cadet wondering what happens to you
Or a member of staff??
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Aires, where is this information sourced?
Before taking any action, the Civcom must seek advice from a solicitor with specific knowledge of charity law and should consider presenting any proposed winding up and disposal plan to the Charity Commission.
exmpa
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Just out of interest, who should pay the fees?
Where does it say that im the regs?
My bold
Seems more like a Charities Commission thing than RAFAC…
That’s if it’s a thing, but it seems wise regardless, or moot fairly soon.
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As people on the Civ Coms may hold professional or registrable qualifications, speaking to a solicitor maybe a very wise move as if it all went wrong and there is an investigation criminal or civil which finds against them, it may affect their ability to work as the facts maybe reported to their regulator for investigation by them following conclusion of any case.
Having such qualifications does not mean your responsibilities to your regulator stop when you leave the workplace.
Edited to add: This goes for CFAVs as well in a different context, you are not just responsible to the RAFAC but to other outside agencies and regulators over any acts or omissions that you may make.
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Any fees may be paid for from civcom funds as a proper expense incurred as part of the dissolution process.
If your knowledge of charity law is sufficient to carry out the dissolution process without professional advice and you are able to convince your fellow committee members that this is a risk free option then carry on. Just bear in mind that if the charity is unincorporated; I would imagine that most civcoms are; then members may bear personal liability if something goes wrong. Unless of course trustee indemnity insurance is in place?
Winding up a charity or similar body; CIC, CIO CASC etc.; is something that the members of the governing body rarely have to do. Therefore, it is important that advice is sought regarding the proper procedures and requirements. It may even be decided that the process is too onerous or time consuming for the committee and it is best to employ a third party to carry it out.
exmpa
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As charity law in other parts of the UK are different in particular Scotland then the so-called reorganisation of Civ Coms will not be fair or equitable between the four nations.
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Welcome to the UK.