We have made enquiries about CIOs. I was told over the phone (to the charities commission) that they _may_ be available as soon as this autumn, but a rather more reputable doc Thomas Dalton found suggested it'd be more like next spring, so it's probably not worth the risk of waiting.
Tom
-----Original Message----- From: wikimediauk-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Gordon Joly Sent: 30 August 2008 21:58 To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Dissolution of Wiki Educational Resources Ltd
But may I repeat that a new company can take advantage of the Charities Act 2006 which might help incorporation (e.g. becoming a charity and company limited by guarantee at the same time).
After an offline discussion....
Seems that this option is still not available currently.
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registration/charcio.asp
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When will the CIO structure be available for charities?
Although the Charities Act 2006 sets out part of the proposed legal framework for CIOs, more detail will be included in secondary legislation in the form of Regulations which will be made by the Minister for the Third Sector. These Regulations will set out how CIOs must be established and operate.
Before the Regulations are made, the Office of the Third Sector will issue draft Regulations for consultation. At the same time, the Commission will issue draft model constitutions for CIOs for consultation. It is important that we get these right and we expect the consultation will begin mid summer 2008. Further details about this and when the CIO will be available for charities to use will appear on our website.
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Having said that, there may be other advantages in the implementation Charities Act 2006 for the new charity/company.
Gordo