To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the Charity Commission's regulatory case report on Age Concern England and its Heyday membership scheme; and what reports he has received of the Charity Commission's investigation into the Green Crescent Charity in Stockport. (268948)

The Charity Commission's regulatory case report into Age Concern England and its Heyday membership scheme raises some wider issues for the charity sector. In particular, the report highlighted the importance of strong governance arrangements alongside accountability and transparency. The ongoing inquiry into Green Crescent is a matter for the Commission who notified us that they had opened an inquiry under section 8 of the Charities Act 1993. However, in accordance with its normal practice, the Commission will publish a statement of the results of the inquiry setting out its findings and any wider lessons once the inquiry is completed.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many charities have (a) opened and (b) closed in each (i) year since 2004 and (ii) month since January 2008; and if he will make a statement. (269357)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Charity Commission to reply.

Letter from Andrew Hind, dated April 2009:

As the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, I have been asked to respond to your question (269357) regarding the number of charities that have opened and closed each year since 2004 and each month since January 2008.

I attach below tables which set out the number of charities that registered with the Charity Commission and the number of charities that were removed from the Register for each year since 2004 and for each month since January 2008.

The tables below refer to those charities which are required to register with the Commission by law. Smaller charities are not required to register with us; the threshold for registration was an annual income of £1,000 for the periods shown by the tables until April 2008 when this threshold was increased to £5,000.

Charities are removed from the Register for a number of different reasons and the figures below are not directly representative of the number of charities that are wound down during any one period. The peak in removals seen in the figures for November 2008 represents the removal of dormant charities from the Register. Likewise the number of charity registrations is not directly representative of the number of charities that have been opened during any one period. For example charities that are opened with an annual income below the threshold do not have to register and other charities may only register when their income rises above this threshold.

I hope this is helpful.