Charitable Trusts, Bequests and Trust Funds
Argyll and Bute Council · 4 December 2024
Back to Mid Argyll, Kintyre & the Islands Area Committee — 4 December 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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CHARITABLE TRUSTS, BEQUESTS AND TRUST FUNDS 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 The Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee are Trustees for a number of Charitable Trusts, Bequests and Trust Funds. Historically a report has been brought to the Area Committee on an annual basis with recommendations for distribution. 1.2 While officers continually seek to simplify and update processes where possible to ensure ongoing compliance with the original terms of the bequests and to reduce the administrative burden of the management and distribution, there remains a number of challenges. A number of the charitable funds were established many years ago, and as a consequence of changes in society over time the intended beneficiaries of the bequests are no longer easily identified. 1.3 This report provides details of a number of the Trusts and Bequests that remain active in the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area and seeks agreement from Members on proposed distribution methods. 2.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 The Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee are asked to: 1. consider the financial position of the Charitable Trusts, Bequests and Trust Funds as of August 2024; 2. agree that the Hutcheon Memorial Trust and May Paterson Trust prizes be limited to £30; 3. agree that all other charities and trust funds, that have historically been awarded to Council Departments and Allied partners, are awarded on the basis outlined in paragraph 5.5 and defined within appendix 1; 4. agree to open applications to the Kintyre Youth Fund with awards of £100 being offered; and ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL MID ARGYLL, KINTYRE AND THE ISLANDS AREA COMMITTEE LEGAL & REGULATORY SUPPORT 4 December 2024
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5. note that an application to the Fisher Bequest remains outstanding and Officers are considering appropriate distribution arrangements for the McAllister Mortification and that a report will be submitted in this regard.
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CHARITABLE TRUSTS, BEQUESTS AND TRUST FUNDS 3.0 INTRODUCTION 3.1 The Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee are Trustees of 19 Charitable Trusts, Bequests and Trust Funds with an estimated unrestricted balance of around £138K. This report provides information on proposals in relation to the ongoing management of these funds and seeks agreement on distribution proposals. 4.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 The Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee are asked to: 1. note the financial position of the Charitable Trusts, Bequests and Trust Funds as of August 2024; 2. agree that the Hutcheon Memorial Trust and May Paterson Trust prizes be limited to £30; 3. agree that all other charities and trust funds, that have historically been awarded to Council Departments and Allied partners, are awarded on the basis outlined in paragraph 5.4 and defined within appendix 1; 4. agree to open applications to the Kintyre Youth Fund with awards of £100 being offered; and 5. note that an application to the Fisher Bequest remains outstanding and Officers are considering appropriate distribution arrangements for the McAllister Mortification and that a report will be submitted in this regard to a future meeting. 5.0 BACKGROUND & DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS 5.1 Historically reports are prepared and submitted to Area Committees outlining the status of each of the funds, proposed distribution method(s) and the amounts available. ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL MID ARGYLL, KINTYRE AND THE ISLANDS AREA COMMITTEE LEGAL & REGULATORY SUPPORT 4 December 2024
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5.2 Of the 19 funds for which the Area Committee are trustees many have historically been awarded to Council Departments and allied partners (for example Roads and Amenity Services). 5.3 In December 2021 the Area Committee agreed to place a moratorium on the distribution of monies from 6 funds as they had no/limited funds available for distribution. This approach has served to lessen the administrative burden and will allow interest to be accumulated to ensure maximum community benefit at a later date. One of those funds, specifically Kilkerran Cemetery, has performed well over the last 12 months and should it continue to do so will be considered for reactivation in 2025. 5.4 In order to provide a level of consistency to the process for those Bequests/Trusts which are transferred to Council Departments or allied partners it is proposed that to allow for maximum benefit from the resources available, those Funds that hold more than £1k will be allocated on a basis of the interest from the previous financial year plus 1/20th of the unrestricted funds. This approach being the recommendation of Financial Officers as a means for members to meet their fiscal responsibilities as trustees, specifically that the funds are maintained over the longer term and not exhausted. 5.5 The exemption to this rule is the funds which relate to a school prizes, the Hutcheon Memorial Trust and the May Paterson Trust. It is suggested the level of each prize be £30 this is in line with those awarded in other areas. This will be paid by Finance on receipt of confirmation of the recipient from the school. The Hutcheon Memorial Trust is awarded to the pupil that displays general excellence within the subject of mathematics, while the May Paterson Trust is awarded to the pupil that displays general excellence within business studies. 5.6 Should the Area Committee approve this approach over £6000.00 will be available to council departments and allied partners this financial year. Of which around £4.5k is awarded to Live Argyll via the Library Endowment Fund. Since 2020 around £11k has been allocated from this fund. 5.7 A small number of funds, five, have bespoke distribution methods which are undertaken by Legal and Regulatory Support, this process will continue. Officers will continue to monitor the expenditure from these funds, should expenditure not provide a community benefit Officers will explore what action can be taken. Applications to the Kintyre Youth Fund had been paused in recent years due to a lack of funds, however given that the Fund is now in a more positive position it is suggested that Members agree to accept applications once more. To ensure the financial viability an to enable more application to be accepted it is suggested that awards are limited to £100 per application. 5.8 Due to the restrictive nature of some funds, specifically the Macalister Mortification and The Fisher Bequest, difficulties have been faced in establishing suitable distribution arrangements. Following agreement by the Area Committee in February 2024 officers have engaged with a suitable organisation to apply for
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support from the Fisher Bequest fund. The application remains outstanding, on submission this would be subject to consideration by the Area Committee. 5.9 Officers from Legal and Regulatory Support continue to explore appropriate distribution arrangements for the Macalister Mortification. The fund must ‘Be invested in heritable security for the poor of the parish’. ‘Heritable security’ is essentially a mortgage and therefore the money available would have to be used for the fabric of a property that is accessed/used by the ‘poor’ of the parish. The strict nature of these terms and the small geographical area limits the number of potential applicants to this fund and as such it may be that the fund be considered for reorganisation via the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 and The Public Trusts (Reorganisation) (Scotland) (No.2). This process can be long and laborious and one that should be avoided, if at all possible. 6.0 CONCLUSION 6.1 This report has outlined the current position in terms of financial and distribution arrangements of the funds/bequests held in trust by the Area Committees. On approving the recommendations they will provide a clear community benefit while meeting our obligation of ensuring transparent and effective governance. 7.0 IMPLICATIONS 7.1 Policy - None. 7.2 Financial - None. 7.3 Legal - Area Committees, as Trustees, must ensure that the distribution arrangements comply with the terms of the funds/bequests, failure to do so would result in the Council being liable. 7.4 HR - To proceed with reorganisation, in terms of section 10 or 11 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 would require the allocation of Officer time. 7.5 Fairer Scotland Duty - None 7.5.1 Equalities – protected characteristics – None 7.5.2 Socio-Economic Duty – None 7.5.3 Islands – None 7.6 Climate Change – None 7.7 Risk – None 7.8 7.9 Customer Service – None The Rights of the Child (UNCRC) – None
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Douglas Hendry Executive Director with responsibility for Legal & Regulatory Support November 2024 Policy Lead - Councillor Mark Irvine Appendix 1 – Distribution Arrangements for Trust Funds and Bequests. For further information contact: Stuart McLean, Committee Manager, 01436 658717, stuart.mclean@argyll-bute.gov.uk