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(d) Do not let your heart rule your head
(e) What advice – internal and/or external is necessary?
(f) Have any compliance requirements been met (for example when disposing of land or borrowing money have you complied with the Charities Act 2011 requirements?) If you don’t know, take advice
(g) Have all relevant factors been considered and all irrelevant factors discarded?
(h) What is the exit strategy?
(i) Is there a robust monitoring framework?
Trustees have a duty to act collectively. So if a trustee disagrees with a proposal they should have their view minuted, but if the trustees’ then pass the proposal, all of them are under a duty to support it as trustees have “Cabinet Responsibility”. If a trustee cannot support it, he or she should consider stepping down from the charity.
Avoid personal bene t to trustees (or persons connected to them)
As a basic rule a trustee should not personally bene t (whether directly or indirectly) from the charity of which he or she is a trustee. However there are exceptions to this rule:
(a) If the bene t is expressly authorised by the charity’s governing document (for example where a priest is housed by the charity but is also required to be a trustee)
(b) The Charity Commission has given express consent. This may be needed for example where the trustees consider it necessary to assist a trustee’s relative charitable funds during a time of need
(c) While it is currently accepted by the Charity Commission that members of a religious institute can be housed and fed by their institute charity and still be trustees, as they have taken a vow of poverty to pursue charitable work and they give any earnings to the charity, this is occasionally challenged by the wider public, and commission staff. If the institute charity is structured as a company this needs to be allowed for in the company’s governing document to comply with the companies act requirements. It should also as best practice be included in governing documents of trusts and CIOs
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Chapter 3