A Hudderfield-based volunteer group has been told to formally register with the Charity Commission if it intends to continue operating.

The Huddersfield Change Project (HCP) risks contravening charity law if it does not comply.

Set up by self-styled project founder and co-ordinator Dave Kennedy in November 2015, the HCP distributes food and clothing to homeless people in the town.

It has ambitious plans to open a soup kitchen and has raised more than £5,000 towards its £25,000 target via a crowdfunding page that has received considerable support.

Further donations have come from local individuals and businesses as well as Huddersfield Soup, based at Kirklees Media Centre, which handed over more than £400 last summer after the HCP made a successful pitch for funding support.

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The HCP’s Facebook page describes it as “a team of dedicated volunteers providing help where help is needed to the most vulnerable in our community.”

However, Mr Kennedy and his team are unregulated and their activities, such as giving out hot food, potentially put recipients at risk.

By law, if an individual sets up a charity he or she must apply to register it with the Charity Commission if it is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) or its annual income is more than £5,000, unless it is a specific type of charity that does not have to register. The Commission will take action to secure compliance if it identifies a charity that isn’t registered but should be.

Dave Kennedy of The Huddersfield Change Project at a meeting

A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said: “The Huddersfield Change Project is not registered with the Charity Commission. Any organisation with exclusively charitable purposes based in England and Wales with an annual income of more than £5,000 is required by law to register with the Charity Commission unless specific exemptions apply.

“We have contacted the organisation to clarify whether it meets the requirements and must submit a charity registration application.”

The Charity Commission generally advises donors to only give to registered charities with a charity number as well as to be vigilant and make enquiries about what donations will specifically be used for and by who.

The HCP is not registered with the Food Standards Agency and has received no hygiene rating despite distributing hot food. Kirklees Council has confirmed that the HCP is not in receipt of a food hygiene certificate and that it has no record of the HCP registering as a Food Business Operator.

Food safety officers from Kirklees Council have previously advised Mr Kennedy and his team to ensure that any hot food distributed to the homeless is fit to eat.

A spokesman said: “We are in contact with the Huddersfield Change Project about how they can meet their responsibilities regarding environmental health and food safety and regarding periods of Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP). HCP have also been invited to attend a partnership event where we will be discussing with other groups the development and agreement of a Good Practice Guide for street outreach work.”

The Examiner has made multiple attempts to meet with Mr Kennedy, an unemployed former chef who lives in Linthwaite. He was invited to provide evidence of an application to the Charity Commission for charitable status for the HCP, evidence of hygiene certificates and/or Food Standards Agency registration, safeguarding documentation such as Disclosure and Barring checks, and evidence of how funds are spent and that there is transparency and accountability relating to donations.

Mr Kennedy did not respond.