General Nursing Council for England and Wales v St Marylebone Borough Council: HL 1959

The court considered how to decide whether the Council could claim exemption from rates.
Held: The court should restrict its consideration to the purposes as set out and not look to the actual activities. The relevant clause had as its main object the advancement of nursing and not the advancement of the nursing profession and the exemption as a charity was available.
Lord Keith of Avonholm said: ‘In my opinion, the only way by which the main objects of the Appellant Council can be ascertained is by looking at the objects as expressed in the Act. It is by the language used that Parliament has expressed its intention, and it is with the objects for which the Council was immediately and directly constituted that we are, in my opinion, concerned and not with the results of its activities at second or third hand.’

Judges:

Lord Keith of Avonholm, Lord Morton, Lord Somervell

Citations:

[1959] 2 WLR 308

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedRoyal College of Nursing v Borough of St Marylebone CA 27-Oct-1959
The College sought exemption from rates in respect of a nurses’ home saying that its objects made it a charitable organisation. It was not conducted for profit, but appeared to have two main purposes.
Held: Each of the purposes must be . .
CitedHelena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs CA 9-May-2012
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Rating, Charity

Updated: 19 July 2022; Ref: scu.276468