Guidance notes in filling the application form for House to House Collections
All applications for a house to house collection must be on the form, attached.
All questions must be answered fully.
The application must be returned to the licensing authority on the 1st day of the month preceding the
month in which the proposed collection is.
This means if a proposed collection is to be held on 15th August, then the application has to be with the
authority on 1st July.
General Notes
Applicants are advised to read the Leaflet entitled House to House Collections Act 1939, prior to filling in
the application form so that they are familiar with the responsibilities they will have in respect of the
collection, if the licence is granted.
The collectors certificate of authority and collectors badges will need to be obtained from The Stationery
Office (TSO Ltd), PO Box 29, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN – Telephone: 0870 600 5522 for
enquiries.
These are priced below, and can be a legitimate expense of the collection, but must be noted on the
account return that is sent to the Council following the collection.
Collectors Certificate of Authority
Authorised Collector’s Badge
£0.15p each
£0.15p each
The account return form which will be sent with the licence (if granted), must be submitted to the Council
within one month of the expiry date on the licence.
The Law provides that a collection must be for a charitable purpose. In determining whether or not your
application falls into this category the Council will look at whether or not your collection will be for public
benefit.
There are two limbs to this.
(1)
(2)
The purpose itself must be beneficial and not harmful to the public; and
The benefit of the purpose must be available to a sufficient section of the public.
This means the purpose is obviously beneficial to the community as a whole or an appreciably important
class of the community, which must be sufficiently defined and identifiable by some quality of a public
nature. Additionally beneficiaries must not be numerically negligible.
So for example collections for single people to pay for a limo to take them to a school prom will not meet
this test. Similarly, collections for a small number of people for a purpose which does not benefit the
community as a whole or at least an important class of it will not meet this test and therefore will not be
licensed as they do not meet the fundamental purpose of the Act.
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HOUSE TO HOUSE COLLECTIONS ACT 1939
GENERAL INFORMATION
House to house collections must have a licence or an exemption. It is an offence to make a
house to house collection for a charitable purpose without a licence.
1.


2.
Exemptions are granted by;
the Home Secretary – for a collection over a wide area (the whole of England and Wales
or a substantial part of it); or
the local Police – for a local collection to completed within a short period.
Licences are granted by the relevant Local Authority.
The term collection includes visits from house to house, and also visits to public houses, offices
and factories to appeal for money, other property (for example clothes) or to sell things on the
basis that part of the proceeds will go to a charity. At present these collections are regulated by
the House to House Collections Act 1939, and the House to House Collections Regulations
1947 and 1963.
PURPOSE
The object of the Act is to provide for the regulation of house to house collections for charitable
purposes and for matters connected therewith, in particular the prevention of such collections in
respect of which an unduly large proportion of the proceeds is absorbed in expenses, leaving
only a comparatively small sum to be actually applied to the charitable purpose.
The House to House Collections Regulations have been made by the Secretary of State for
regulating the manner in which collections, in respect of which licences have been granted or
orders have been made under the Act, may be carried out and the conduct of promoters and
collectors in relation to such collections, and prescribing forms for use under the Act.
REGULATION OF CHARITABLE COLLECTIONS
Any person proposing to conduct a house to house collection for a charitable purpose must obtain
a)
from the licensing authority for the area, either a licence authorising him to promote the
collection, or a certificate of exemption granted by the police on the grounds that the purpose of
the collection is local in character and the collection is likely to be completed in a short period of
time, or
b)
from the Secretary of State, an order of exemption, in a case where a person pursues a
charitable purpose throughout the whole of England, or a substantial part thereof.
Where an order of the Secretary of State has been granted, the provisions of the Act and
Regulations apply as they do in cases where a licence of the authority is in force, but
when the licensing authority grant a certificate of exemption, the only provisions
applicable are those relating to the improper use of badges, etc, and the right of a police
constable to demand the name and address, etc, of a collector, and the penalties
attaching thereto.
LICENCES
These may be granted for a period not exceeding twelve months, subject to special latitude in cases
where the licensing authority wish to provide for the simultaneous expiration of licences in respect of
annual collections or collections made continuously over a long period.
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Licences may be granted in respect of the whole, or part only, of an area, but, where a collection extends
to more than one licensing area, a separate licence must be obtained from each authority to whose area
the collection will extend. In this latter case, however, for convenience of administration, any necessary
enquiries and supervision will usually be undertaken by the licensing authority in whose area the head
office of the collecting charity is situated.
A licensing authority may refuse to grant a licence, or, may revoke a licence already granted, for reasons
set out in Section 2(iii) of the Act. The main reasons for which a licence may be refused or revoked are:
a)
That it does not appear that an adequate proportion of the proceeds of the collection will
be actually applied for charitable purposes.
b)
That excessive remuneration is likely to be retained by any person out of the proceeds of
the collection.
c)
That an offence under the Vagrancy Act 1984, has been committed, or might be facilitated
in connection with the collection.
d)
That the applicant is not a fit and proper person to hold a licence by reason of a conviction
under certain specified headings or for fraudulent or dishonest action.
e)
That the promoter has failed to exercise due diligence in the appointment of fit and proper
collectors or otherwise in the administration of the collection.
APPEAL AGAINST REFUSAL OR REVOCATION
Any person aggrieved by the refusal to grant him a licence, or by the revocation of a
licence already granted, may appeal to the Secretary of State against the decision within
14 days of the date of the notice of refusal or revocation, as shown on the notice.
COLLECTORS
Every collector must be furnished with:
a)
A Certificate of Authority, in prescribed form, duly authenticated and signed by him, on demand,
to any police constable, or occupier of a house visited by him.
b)
A Badge, in prescribed form, giving a general indication of the purpose of the collection, to be
signed by him and worn prominently when collecting.
c)
If money is to be collected, a Collecting Box or a Receipt Book marked with a clear indication of
the purpose of the collection and a distinguishing number, which indication and number shall, in
the case of a receipt book, also be marked on every receipt contained therein in addition to the
consecutive number of the receipt.
The certificates of authority and badges will be supplied by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, on production
of a certificate from the licensing authority, which will be supplied with, or attached to, the licence.
No person under the age of 16 years shall act or be authorised to act as the collector of money.
ENVELOPE COLLECTIONS
Where the promoter of a collection to whom an order has been granted informs the Secretary of State
that he desires to promote an envelope collection, and the Secretary of State is of the opinion that the
collection is for a charitable purpose of major importance and is suitably administered, the Secretary of
State may, if he thinks fit, give permission for the promotion of an envelope collection, and in such a
case, the provisions of the Act and Regulations will apply subject to certain necessary adaptations.
ADMINISTRATION
The promoter of a collection must keep a record of certificates of authority, badges, collecting boxes and
receipt books issued to collectors, and must ensure that every such certificate, badge, collecting box
(with seal intact) and receipt book (with counterfoils duly completed) is returned to him, or other
authorised person when the collection is completed, or when the collector ceases to act as a collector.
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Collecting boxes must be opened and examined in the presence of the promoter and another responsible
person, or by an officer of a bank, and receipt books must be examined and checked by the promoter
and another responsible person.
Precise records of all moneys received or expended, and of all articles collected and disposed of, must
be kept, and detailed accounts, in prescribed form must be furnished. Accounts to a licensing authority
must be furnished within one month after the expiration of the licence, or within such extended period as
the authority may allow. Accounts to the Secretary of State must be furnished annually so long as the
order remains in force, and final accounts must be furnished within three months of the revocation of the
order, or within such extended period as the Secretary of State may allow.
The attention of any applicant is directed to the provisions of the House to House Regulations
1947, copies of which may be obtained form HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE or any
official stationers.
NB An application submitted to Eastleigh Borough Council Licensing Section is usually
decided within 14 days of receipt of the completed application in full. All application
forms should be submitted on the 1st day of the month preceding the month in which the
collection is proposed.
For further advice and information please contact Angela Nightingale 02380 688109
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HOUSE TO HOUSE COLLECTIONS ACT 1939
Eastleigh House
Upper Market St
Eastleigh
Hants
SO50 9YN
Tel:
(023) 8068 8349/8109
Fax:
(023) 8068 8122
DX 122381 EASTLEIGH
______________________________________________________________
APPLICATION TO EASTLEIGH BOROUGH COUNCIL
In pursuance of Section 2 of the House to House Collections Act 1939, I hereby apply for a licence
authorising me to promote the collection of which particulars are given below.
Signature of Applicant
Date
PARTICULARS OF COLLECTION
1
Applicants Full Name
2a
Applicants Address
2b
Telephone No.
3
Particulars of charitable purpose
to which proceeds of collection
are to be applied. (Full particulars
should be given and, where
possible, the most recent account
of any charity which is to benefit
should be enclosed).
4
Over what parts of the Borough of
Eastleigh area is it proposed that
the collection should extend?
5
Dates when it is proposed that the
collection should be made?
6
Is it proposed to collect money?
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PARTICULARS OF COLLECTION Cont’d….
7
Is it proposed to collect other
property? If so, of what nature? Is
it proposed to sell such property,
or to give away or to use it?
8
Approximately how many persons
is it proposed to authorise to act
as collectors in the area of the
local authority to which the
application is addressed?
9
Is it proposed that remuneration
should be paid out of the
proceeds of the collection:(a) to collectors?
(b) To other persons?
If so, to what rates and to what
classes of persons?
10
Is application being made for
licences for collections for the
same purpose in other areas? If
so, to which local authorities?
Approximately how many persons
in all is it proposed to authorise to
act as collectors?
11
Has the applicant, or to the
knowledge of the applicant,
anyone associated with the
promotion of the collection been
refused a Licence or Order under
the Act, or had a Licence or Order
revoked? If so, give particulars.
12
Is it proposed to promote this
collection in conjunction with a
street collection? If so, it is
desired that the amounts of this
collection should be combined
wholly or in part with the account
of the street collection.
13
If the collection is for a War
Charity, state if such charity has
been registered under the War
Charities Act 1940, and give the
name of registration authority and
date of registration or exemption.
Please return this form to:-
Angela Nightingale 02380 688109
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Ethnic Monitoring Of Applicants
Why do we need to do it?
The Race Relations Act 1976 as amended in 2000 requires public authorities (like the Council)
to:
 Eliminate unlawful discrimination;
 Promote equality of opportunity
and
 Promote good relations between people of different racial groups.
In order to do this the Council has a duty to monitor the impact of its policies and services on
racial equality.
Without ethnic monitoring we cannot tell whether the Council’s race equality policy is working. It
can tell us whether we are offering equality of opportunity and treatment to all ethnic groups and
allows us prove this to others.
What Services Are Monitored?
The Council has a racial equality strategy which outlines our plans for the next three years. The
strategy includes plans to continue and extend monitoring. The sorts of services involved
already are housing and environmental health.
Monitoring can take different forms:
 We monitor ethnicity when people apply to the Council for services or employment;
 We monitor ethnicity when people complain about services;
 We monitor ethnicity on an going basis through surveys or customer satisfaction cards.
What Will Be Monitored?
Each new applicant for a licence will be asked for information about his or her ethnicity. We will
also ask people their about their ethnicity when they apply for a renewal.
It is not compulsory for you to provide this information and it will not affect the outcome of your
application. The information you provide will be kept confidential and will only be used in collated
form for monitoring purposes.
Thank you for your assistance.
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To which of these groups do you consider you belong to?
PLEASE TICK ONE BOX
WHITE
BLACK OR BLACK
British
BRITISH
Irish
Caribbean
Any other white background
(PLEASE WRITE IN)
African
…………………………………………
Any other black background
(PLEASE WRITE IN)
…………………………………………
MIXED
ASIAN OR ASIAN BRITISH
White & Black Caribbean
Indian
White & Black African
Pakistani
White & Asian
Bangladeshi
Any other mixed background
(PLEASE WRITE IN)
Any other Asian background
(PLEASE WRITE IN)
…………………………………………
………………………………………..
Chinese
Other ethnic group
(PLEASE WRITE IN)
…………………………………………..
Unwilling to respond
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GRANTED/REFUSED
8