Charity law and regulation
Within the Office of the Third Sector we deal with charity law and regulation affecting charities in England and Wales. We make sure that the legal framework helps charities to develop their activities and services and to play an increasing role for good in society, while giving confidence to the public about the integrity of charities.
We are responsible for:
- the reform of charity law, including the Charities Act 2006
- monitoring new legislation and changes to existing legislation to ensure that charities are not disadvantaged in any way
- laws governing public charitable collections.
We work closely with the Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. We support Ministers in their functions in relation to the Charity Commission, and help the Commission with Parliamentary business.
We also work closely with the Better Regulation Executive and the Charity Commission to identify and take forward proposals for improving the regulatory environment for charities.
In this section:
- Charities Act 2006: Background and guide
Background information and a plain English guide to the Charities Act.
- Charities Act 2006: Implementation
The latest information on the Charities Act and its implementation
- Charity Commission
The Office of the Third Sector's role in relation to the Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities.
- Charity Tribunal [external website]
The Charity Tribunal is an independent body set up under the Charities Act 2006 to :
- Hear appeals against the decisions of the Charity Commission
- Hear applications for review of decisions of the Charity Commission
- Consider references from the Attorney General or the Charity Commission on points of law
- Better regulation
The Office of the Third Sector's role in tackling unnecessary or disproportionate regulation that affects third sector organisations.
- Fundraising and charitable collections
Regulation of fundraising and public charitable collections.
