London Development Group’s (LDG) Legal Subgroup shares an update on the Quakers in London Articles of Association, including a summary of the feedback received and action taken in response.
The final draft of the Articles of Association is available here with changes made since JLAM on 12 September tracked. The next step is formal consideration at a meeting of LQPT Members on 13 October 2026. The LQPT ‘members’ are the 7 existing AMs. For the purpose of discernment, the AM is represented by the Clerk to the AM Trust as the ‘representative member’. These Friends are representatives (not delegates).
In October last year, JLAM minuted that – from 2027 – all London Quakers in Membership would be ‘members’ of the Charitable Company, thus ensuring the full engagement by us all in the work of QiL.
The London Development Group Legal Subgroup is grateful for the questions and comments from Friends by correspondence, at JLAM, and at various zoom calls over the last few weeks. At the end of this note, there’s a chart that summarises the feedback, responses and says whether or not any change is being made. There were some useful comments that have improved the Articles. We are not making changes on other points raised for a variety of reasons including that what was flagged isn’t actually in the Articles of Association; that what is proposed contradicts what other Friends are asking for and/or what JLAM asked LDG to do; or that we have already received legal advice that we can’t change it.
The Legal Subgroup has been working on the Articles since October 2025 with advice from Bates Wells legal team to implement what was asked in JLAM minute 25/19:
‘● LQPT will act as the receiving entity, with the 7 Area Meetings and London Quakers transferring all assets and liabilities into it.
● At the point of merger, the LQPT charity will change its name.
● At least initially, the charity will have Charitable Company status but we could choose to change this to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) at a later date.
● We will use the existing charitable objects of LQPT, which are sufficiently broad, but may choose to change them in time.
● The legal members of the charity will be all Quakers in membership in London, in line with the principles of spiritual Quaker governance.
We ask that the LDG carries out a review of the articles of LQPT to look further at what else is needed to reflect our Quaker practice and values and to ensure all our current Local Meetings are included’.
This is what we have tried to do, making the minimum necessary changes needed to create a document that will work for QiL. Certain types of changes to governing documents require Charity Commission permission and it can take a long time to get it. The London Development Group has not made any changes that require permission. They anticipate that QiL and its trustees will review the Articles again and may consider making further changes in the future – but this is for future discernment.
In July 2026, at an LQPT meeting for Members, representatives reviewed the draft articles and made suggestions that were incorporated. The amended version has been on the QiL website since early August so that all Friends across London could feed in questions and comments as many have. In addition, Member Representatives have consulted within their AM as needed.
A table summarising the points raised in correspondence, at JLAM, or in zooms by 20 September 2026, the response and any action taken is available to read and download below: