Policy paper: National exemption order scheme

Under current law, the Minister for the Cabinet Office is responsible for the national exemption order scheme for house-to-house collections.

Organisations can generally obtain national exemption orders if they have house-to-house collection licences in at least 70–100 local authority licensing areas for the two preceding years. There are currently 44 national exemption order holders.

Appeals

Organisations can appeal to the Minister for the Cabinet Office if a local authority refuses them a licence to hold a house-to-house collection or if they revoke such a licence. The Cabinet Office processes these appeals.

In the case of street collections, there is currently no equivalent right of appeal. The Charities Act 2006 contains provision for a new licensing scheme for public charitable collections, but these provisions are not yet in force.