their jurisdiction, but significant exceptions apply so that many organizations are bona fide charities but do not appear on a public register. The registers are maintained by the Charity Commission for England and Wales and for Scotland by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland maintains a register of charities that have completed formal registration (see below). Organizations applying must meet the specific legal requirements summarized below, and have filing requirements with their regulator, and are subject to inspection or other forms of review. The oldest charity in the UK is The King's School, Canterbury established in 597. The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 subjects charities to regulation by the Electoral Commission in the run-up to a general election. England and Wales Definition Section 1 Charities Act 2011 provides the definition in England and Wales: (1) For the purposes of the law of England and Wales, "charity" means an institution which— (a) is established for charitable purposes only, and (b) falls to be subject to the control of the High Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction with respect to charities. The Charities Act 2011 provides the following list of charitable purposes: the prevention or relief of poverty the advancement of education the advancement of religion the advancement of health or the saving of lives the advancement of citizenship or community development the advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science the advancement of amateur sport the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity the advancement of environmental protection or improvement the relief of those in need, by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage the advancement of animal welfare the promotion of the efficiency of the armed forces of the Crown or of the police, fire and rescue services or ambulance services other purposes currently recognized as charitable and any new charitable purposes which are similar to another charitable purpose. A charity must also provide a public benefit. Before the Charities Act 2006, which introduced the definition now contained in the 2011 Act, the definition of charity arose from a list of charitable purposes in the Charitable Uses Act 1601 (also known as the Statute of Elizabeth), which had been interpreted and expanded into a considerable body of case law.