The UK Cyber Security Council – the self-regulatory body for the cyber security education and skills sector – today announced that its application for charitable status has been approved by the Charity Commission, and that the Council has been added to the register of charities accordingly.
The confirmation of the Council as a charitable body is recognition of the inclusive and non-profit support role the Council will play in supporting the development of education, training and skills within the UK cyber security community.
Through its founding principles and key pillars of operation, the Council will serve as a trusted and expert body working to support policy makers, training and education bodies, membership associations, employers and cyber security practitioners.
Organisations with charitable status cannot use assets for any purpose other than the pursuit of charitable objects. The assets of a charity can never be used for private benefit. Charities cannot operate for the sole purpose of making a profit, must show that they are creating public benefit, and must conform to the regulations set out in charity law particularly the Charities Act 2011.
Charity is a legal status for an organisation, not a legal form or organisational structure. Charities are not owned by anybody.
“We’re very pleased to say that the Council has been granted charitable status. Being a charity doesn’t particularly change how the Council will operate, but it’s both a reminder and proof to everyone that the mission of the Council is exclusively to benefit the public, in particular by making the UK one of the safest places in the world to live and work online,” said Don MacIntyre, interim CEO of the UK Cyber Security Council.
In accordance with UK’s charity legislation, the UK Cyber Security Council is controlled, and its assets held in trust, by a board of trustees, which is responsible for ensuring that the Council is well-run and delivers its charitable activities for the public benefit.
