Debra Morris

University of Liverpool | UoL · Liverpool Law School

‘The Equality Act 2010: five years on’ conference was organized as a collaboration between the Forum for Research into Equality and Diversity (University of Chester) and the School of Law and Social Justice (University of Liverpool). The Equality Act 2010 has arguably been one of the most important and challenging pieces of legislation introduced i...

Davies, C., Ferreira, N., Morris, D., & Morris, N.,The Equality Act 2010: Five years on. International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 16 (2-3), 61-65. Copyright © [2016]. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.

This article considers the relationship between the Equality Act 2010 and the Charities Act 2011 (in Scotland, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005) in the context of adoption by same-sex couples and the complex exceptions to the Equality Act that charities may be able to rely upon in order to continue to discriminate. It conclu...

This article focusses on the specific impact of the cuts in legal aid funding on the charitable sector. The sector plays a significant role in advice giving. Some charities have the provision of legal advice as their sole purpose, whilst the work of other charities includes the giving of legal advice. Funding comes via a number of sources including...

While there is a central assumption that charities can be key implementers of Big Society ideals, this paper will consider whether there is compatibility between the political rhetoric of the Big Society and its delivery through the charitable sector. It will be maintained that, while much obvious synergy exists, there are inherent difficulties, at...

The traditional distinctions between state schools and fee-charging independent schools have been challenged over the years, with charitable status at the core of the crossover. The changing relationship between the state and charitable sectors and the resultant blurring of the dividing line between them leads us to examine the role that charities...

Managers, donors, regulators and reporters care about fundraising cost ratios (donations divided by costs) despite their many shortcomings. In this paper we discuss the unintended but harmful side effects resulting from the pressure to minimise cost ratios in the areas of compliance and regulatory costs, misleading solicitations and misled donors,...

The Charities Act 2006 provides a statutory definition of charity for the first time and a positive requirement for all charities to prove public benefit. This brings into focus once more the issue of charities charging for the provision of their services. This paper considers the impact that the changes in the Charities Act 2006 will have on the c...

There is increasing concern with the cost effectiveness of charities' fund-raising activities. Using a recent decision of the US Supreme Court as a backdrop, this paper examines the regulation of professional fund-raising and the associated issues relating to fund-raising costs. Whilst there are no legal limits on fund-raising costs in England and...

This note considers the recent House of Lordsdecision in Royal Bank of Scotland plc. v.Etridge (No. 2). It concerns the familiarscenario of a wife jointly mortgaging (orproviding a guarantee for a mortgage of) thefamily home in order to secure financialsupport for a business run by her husband. Ina landmark judgement, Lord Nicholls set out newand s...

Charities are playing a significant role in the implementation of the government's New Deal programme. From providing advice on local employment issues to administrative services to work placements, the voluntary sector has been working in public/private partnerships throughout England and Wales. However, despite the government's commitments in the...

Drawing on the findings of a year-long empirical study of 15 charities in the county of Merseyside, this article examines some of the implications for charities of entering into the ‘contract culture’. Although not the focus of the empirical study as a whole, the particular aim of this article is to consider the effect of the contract culture on th...

Voluntary organisations are beginning to acknowledge that they have responsibilities towards volunteers that closely resemble their duties towards paid staff. There is a move towards interviewing volunteers, taking up references and defining the terms and conditions of volunteer work. This paper explores some legal implications of the formalisation...

This case note considers the Court of Appeal decision in Royal Bank of Scotland v. Etridge (No. 2) and other appeals [1998] 4 All E.R. 705. It concerns the familiar scenario of a wife jointly mortgaging (or providing a guarantee for a mortgage of) the family home in order to secure financial support for a business run by her husband. The House of L...

Without Abstract

The post of Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members was established under the provisions of section 19 of the Employment Act 1988,1 in order to help protect certain statutory rights of trade union members. The first Commissioner to be appointed is Gill Rowlands, and her office opened for business in December 1988. This article will look...

For the first time, under the proposed Bill, 'charity' will have a statutory definition. Charitable status will be subjected to a two-stage test. To be considered charitable, an organisation will need to demonstrate that its purposes, as set out in its constitution, fall within one or more of those in the new list of 12 charitable purposes, and als...