Two equal rights charities face a nervous wait for a tribunal ruling that could herald significant changes to Charity Commission registration rules.
The judge has finished hearing arguments in the case brought by the trans youth charity Mermaids against the LGB Alliance. But no date has yet been set for the ruling, which might not be issued until the new year.
The LGBA registered as a charity with the regulator in April 2021.
Mermaids then challenged that decision, claiming that the LGBA did not provide benefit to the public and existed to “denigrate those who support trans people”.
The LGBA rejected those claims and said it was “the only UK charity that focuses exclusively on the rights of LGB people”.
The Good Law Project, which brought the case on Mermaids’ behalf, argued that the trans rights charity could lose out on funding if the LGBA was not stripped of its charitable status.
The appeal is supported by the charities LGBT+ Consortium, Gendered Intelligence and the LGBT Foundation and by the community interest company TransActual.
The LGBA said that while Mermaids was entitled to disagree with its values and beliefs, it did not have a legal right to challenge the LGBA’s existence.
In a six-day hearing, spread, the court took evidence on all these questions from representatives of both charities as well as the Charity Commission.
The tribunal’s decision could create a precedent for charities’ ability to challenge the registration of other voluntary organisations and the extent to which charities with competing views and values are expected to co-exist within the sector.
Both charities have raised large sums specifically to help them fight the case.
By this morning, the Good Law Project had raised £83,600 from 3,100 donors for its work on behalf of Mermaids, while the LGBA had raised £203,000 from 5,500 donors.
Separately from the tribunal, the Charity Commission has looked at regulatory concerns involving both charities in the past 18 months.
The regulator contacted trustees at the LGBA over the content of some of its social media posts in August last year, and it has an open compliance case into concerns raised about safeguarding at Mermaids.
Mermaids declined to comment on the appeal hearing because the case was ongoing, but directed Third Sector to a statement the charity made when it first brought the case.
It said: “The LGBA’s real purpose is the denigration of trans people and the destruction of organisations that support them, in particular through political lobbying and campaigning for changes to the law.
“These are not charitable purposes for the public benefit; they are political objectives designed to roll back legal protections for trans people.”
The LGBA also did not comment today, but previously said: “We are the only UK charity that focuses exclusively on the rights of LGB people and the decision by the Charity Commission to award us charity status is being challenged.
“We’re determined to defend our charity status and it is vital we win.”