Fylde Council have approved amendments to the Lytham Institute charity constitution, allowing for additional trustees alongside the Council to help achieve the objectives of the trust, which are:
To further or benefit the residents of Lytham and the neighbourhood, without distinction of sex, sexual orientation, race or of political, religious, or other opinions by providing facilities in the interests of social welfare for education, recreation and leisure time occupation, including cultural and art exhibitions, with the objective of improving the conditions of life for the residents.
The constitutional amendments incorporate clauses from the Charity Commission’s model trust deed for charity trusts and include an updated conflicts of interest policy.
The Council recognised that the objectives of the trust would be best achieved by appointing further trustees to work alongside the council. The Charity Commission’s documentation on best practice will guide a time-limited working group of councillors who, along with the Head of Governance, will seek to define the role of trustees and develop a process for recruitment. These recommendations will then be reported back for a further decision.
A spokesperson for Fylde Council said: “Lytham Institute is now recognised as a charity, rather than a council asset, and as such will need to re-discover its identity in the community of Lytham. One of the most fundamental decisions the Council can make as a trustee is who to appoint as fellow trustees. It is vital that these trustees are chosen based on skill, knowledge, and experience pertinent to the needs of the charity, and we will work to the Charity Commission’s best practice guidance to ensure that this is the case.”
The full amended scheme and the conflicts of interest policy can be read on the Fylde Council website: View meeting documents
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