London Development Group’s Legal Sub Group sets out what will be asked of Members and Attenders as we transition to Quakers in London – explaining the process and answering some FAQs.

At the end of 2026, the seven current Area Meetings in London will merge with each other and with London Quakers Property Trust, to form Quakers in London (QiL).  After that, the 33 Local Meetings will continue to operate in much the same way as now, guided by Chapter 4 of Quaker Faith and Practice, so the Members and Attenders who worship at each of those meetings will continue to worship as they do now.  

For Members, there are just a few things that each individual will need to do as their membership moves from their current area meeting to Quakers in London Area Meeting (QiL).  For Attenders, there is even less to do. 

Membership 

We hope that all Friends in membership of one of the seven area meetings in London (KWAM, LWAM, NETAM, NLAM, NWLAM, SELAM, SLAM) will become a Member of the new area meeting – QiL.   

Each Member will have to formally consent to be a member of QiL. There will be a simple form to complete on line, with a backup paper version for those who need it. The QiL Membership Clerk and Friends serving on the London Development Group will be at JLAMs and other meetings to help and there will be a volunteer in most LMs to assist too. For anyone who doesn’t use a computer and isn’t able to get to MfW, we will arrange for someone to visit at home. 

Attenders don’t have to do anything: they will continue as Attenders at their LM as they are now. 

QiL will be both an AM, which is a key part of Quaker right ordering, and a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee which can legally own property, hold bank accounts and so on. QiL will take over London Quakers Property Trust’s registration which is much easier than setting up a new charity.  

Those in membership of a current AM will become a Member of the Charitable Company as well as a Member of the new AM in Quaker governance terms (once they have completed the form). Members agree to work according to the Articles of Association which are the charity’s governing document: LQPT’s Articles of Association are being amended and you can find a draft version and note of explanation here. Members will have the right to attend one or more meetings each year where the accounts of the Charity are presented and other formal processes take place: these will probably be held as part of a wider QiL Area Meeting in session. Members of the Charitable Company will also – theoretically – be liable for any debts if the Charitable Company closes, but this is limited by guarantee to be ‘up to one pound’ so it’s not something to worry about. 

In future, those who come into membership will automatically become members of QiL area meeting both as a Quaker entity and as a Charitable Company. The form filling is needed only as Friends transfer from the old AMs to QiL. 

 Data Protection 

Each current AM holds and processes certain personal data on its members as a ‘legitimate interest’ for its core purposes. QiL will need a record of the name and basic details of all members in just the same way – by filling in the form members will ensure that the data held is accurate.  

The form will ask if the member wants to receive Quill (a newsletter) and other notices: these will not be sent automatically –  the Member must agree to receive them.  

At this stage, we are not going to set up a shared directory of members, but QiL may decide to do that at a later stage. Each person would have to give specific permission for their personal details to be included in the directory. 

It is different for Attenders who must give explicit consent for any of their data to be held by the current AM or QiL. The form has space for that and we hope Attenders will choose to share their basic details. 

Members or Attenders may give additional permission for specific data to be used for local address lists or newsletters or similar as they do currently.  

In due course, QiL will develop a privacy policy, and until then we will use the draft LQPT privacy policy. 

Financial contributions and Gift Aid  

Contributions from individual Members and Attenders pay for activities in each LM, QiL meetings and events for adults and children, Friends to go on courses, and the salaries of a small staff team. They also contribute to the maintenance costs of meeting houses/hiring places for premises-free LMs to worship, and support the work of Quakers in Britain internationally as well as in England, Scotland and Wales. 

Many Friends contribute through regular standing orders, with gift aid wherever possible.  

We hope that Friends will give some money directly to Quakers in Britain in future rather than via their LM or QiL. That can be set up any time on the Quakers in Britain website. 

And we hope too that Friends will contribute to QiL to help cover the costs of everything that we do in London.  

For LMs that have opted for central finance management, individuals will need to cancel their old standing order and set up a new one for the new bank account.  Details will be sent about this later in the year. 

Taxpayers who want QiL to claim back tax on donations, should fill in a new gift aid form. This is necessary whether the LM is managing its finances itself or managing them centrally through QiL because only QiL can claim back the gift aid.  

This can be done at any time. 

Q & A 

Q: How do I get hold of one of these forms? 

A: Online forms will be sent to all in membership of one of the seven current AMs by email (if we have an address) soon after JLAM on 12 September.  Hard copies will be available for those who need them.  The QiL Assistant Clerk Membership and members of the LDG will follow up during the autumn to help everyone fill them in. Please make our lives easy by filling them as soon as you can! 

Q: I find it very confusing. What should I do? 

A: Don’t worry. We will explain it at JLAM and there will be someone in each LM who can help.      

Q: Surely there’s an easier way to merge than this? 

A: The London Development Group looked at the options and found that using LQPT’s legal structure is by far the simplest and least expensive way of merging. JLAM agreed to this in October 2025. Minute JLAM 2025/19 which you can find in the full minutes of that meeting here records its intention to use the LQPT legal framework.  The summary of legal advice explains the reasons more fully and can be found here.

Q: Wouldn’t it be better to register as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)?

A: In some ways the newer model of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) would be an easier fit, but it would have been a much slower and more expensive process to create a new charity and transfer ownership of all property than to take over and adapt the old LQPT registration. With a CIO, many of the same requirements would apply: it would be mandatory to get Friends’ permission to join, to keep a register of members etc. Many AMs are registered as CIOs and some as Charitable Companies.

Q: Why does QiL have to register at all?

A: Religious charities used to be ‘exempt’ from registration, but the Charities Act 2011 is phasing out that option and a charity as large as QiL must be registered. (In fact the larger existing London AMs are currently registered). QiL must be registered as a charity to be able to hold a bank account, own property etc.

Q: Can I be a member of QiL without being a member of the charitable company?  

A: No – that won’t be possible. All those in membership will be members of the charitable company. At this moment of transfer, members of the old AMs need to complete forms and consent to being part of QiL, but it will happen automatically as new Friends come into membership in future. 

Q: Are there any risks for me as an individual by becoming a member of a Charitable Company?

A: Members of QiL will – theoretically – be liable for any debts if the charitable company closes, but this is limited by guarantee to be ‘up to one pound’ so it’s not something to worry about. There are no other liabilities of any kind for members. Trustees hold more responsibilities, but even they are protected in this type of charity as long as they act in good faith.

Q: What will happen to my personal data? 

A: A membership organisation legally has a ‘legitimate interest’ in holding the personal data of its members and contacting them on matters linked to their membership. We are collecting data via the online form so that we know it is accurate and up to date. The historic membership records held by Area Meetings will form part of their archives, which will be transferred to Quakers in London.

It is a requirement that all Area Meetings keep a register of members (QF&P 11.37), and this will apply to QiL. There is also a statutory requirement for any company – including a charitable company –  to maintain a register of members.  This up-to-date information will be gathered on the forms to be completed by all members this autumn.

Q: How do I get onto the mailing list for the Quill newsletter and to receive notices of what’s going on? 

A: There’s a link on the Quakers in London website where Members or Attenders can sign up now to start receiving the newsletter. The form on membership will have a section where those who want to can sign up to receive Quill.  This needs separate agreement – it’s not an automatic part of the ‘legitimate interest’ of membership. 

Q: How can I get hold of the contact details for Members of Quakers in London? 

A:  You will have to ask a person to give you their details.  At least initially, there won’t be a shared list with contact details. Longer term, QiL might decide to create a Directory of Members and this would require explicit permission from each person whose details were included. 

Official role email addresses for QiL clerks and various committees are available via the ‘connect’ page on the Quill here so that you can contact those role holders easily.

Q: Can I see the governing documents for QiL? 

A: The draft revised Articles of Association (which are the governing document for a charitable company) are available here with a covering note explaining them. Friends are invited to send any comments on them to the London Development Group by 20 September 2026. Formal approval must come from LQPT’s Member Representatives (one from each AM) at a meeting in October 2026. You can also make comments at JLAM on 12 September or on a zoom on 21 September (details below).

Q: What happens if I don’t complete the form? 

A: We hope everyone will complete the form.  Anyone who chooses not to, will not become a member of QiL. But they can, of course, continue to worship as an Attender. We will offer help to make sure that all those in membership of a current AM are able to complete the form. The London Development Group is trying to find a legal way to get a bit more time in 2027 for us to help Friends who are not able to complete forms by the end of the year to do so.

Q: Will Attenders be members of the Charitable Company? 

A: No. The Members are those in membership (not Attenders). 

Q: How can I find out more?

A: The draft Articles of Association and some background information are available on the Quill: https://quakersinlondon.org/2026/08/12/quakers-in-london-articles-of-association/.

The full legal advice and a summary which was taken to JLAM in October 2025 is available with JLAM papers here.

Minute JLAM 2025/19 which agreed to use LQPT’s registration as a Charitable Company can be found in the full minutes of the meeting of 4 October 2025 here.

The London Development Group Legal Subgroup will introduce the Articles of Association and explain about form filling at JLAM on Saturday 12 September. There will be a zoom on Monday 21 September 7.30 – 8.30 for Friends who want to discuss the Articles further or who need help filling in their form. The zoom link is available on the event page here.