The non-for-profit organisation 'Good Thinking Society'
threatened to apply for judicial review if the Charity Commission
(the 'Commission') did not remove those charities which
promote homeopathy from the register of charities, arguing that
charities that promote 'disproven treatments' (such as
homeopathy, in their opinion) should lose their charitable status,
and that they do not meet the public benefit requirement.
Homeopathy is a form of medical treatment developed in the 18th
century by German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann. It is not available on
the NHS except for two hospitals (and some GP practices). In 2010,
the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee described
homeopathy as being based on 'scientifically implausible'
principles.
In response to the threatened action, the Commission has agreed to
review the law around 'the advancement of health or the saving
of lives for the public benefit' more generally, as one of the
charitable purposes that a charity can be registered under; it is
expected that this review will be completed by July 2017 and if
deemed necessary by the Commission, a public consultation will be
carried out.
Click here to read the Good Thinking Society's
article on the possible challenge.
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