Charities Act 2006
The Charities Act 2006 aims to support a dynamic and vibrant sector,
ensuring that it continues to enjoy high levels of public confidence.
The Act reforms charity law and regulation to:
-
enable charities to administer themselves more efficiently and be more
effective
-
improve the regulation of charity fundraising, and reduce regulation on
the sector, especially for smaller charities
-
provide a clear definition of charity with an emphasis on public benefit
-
modernise the Charity Commission's functions and powers as regulator,
increase its accountability, and preserve its independence from
ministers.
The Charities Act
2006 [external website] along with the explanatory
notes [external website] that accompany it are
available on the website of the Office of Public Sector Information. Hard
copies, can be purchased from the Stationery Office.
The new law did not come into effect immediately after Royal Assent in
November 2006. Instead various parts are being brought into force
in sequence, starting from early 2007. An implementation plan sets out
this process and indicates when the various provisions of the Act will come
into force. The implementation plan was updated in November 2007 to reflect
the latest position.
Plain English guide to the Charities Act
The Office of the Third Sector and Charity Commission jointly produced a
plain English guide to the Charities Act 2006, aimed primarily at charities
with an income below £500,000. It explains the main provisions of the Act,
and where you can go for further information or guidance on specific
provisions. The web version of the guide will be updated as various
provisions of the Act are commenced, or new guidance published.
This guide is also available in Welsh and in large print format:
You can also order free hard copies of the guide. Please call 0845 015 0010
and quote URN 07/Z2 for the guide in English, or
URN 07/Z2/w for the guide in Welsh.
A Braille version of the guide is also available – please phone the above
number and quote URN 07/Z2/br.
Please note that stocks are limited.
Regional events on the Charities Act
The Office of the Third Sector and the Charity Commission held a series of
regional events between 16 May and 20 June 2007 to raise awareness of the
implementation of the Charities Act.
The events were primarily for professional advisers such as lawyers,
accountants, umbrella bodies and the legal and finance advisers of large
charities. The events covered the following areas:
The events were well attended and well-received. We have decided not to run
any more of these events for the time being because we are still in the
process of implementing the Act, but we will reconsider the situation once
the Act has been fully implemented.
We would like to thank all those who attended the events, as well as the
Charity Trustees Network for providing volunteers to act as independent
chairs for each of the events.
Charity law reform in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Charity law and regulation is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Scotland
Scottish charity law was changed by the Charities and Trustee Investment
(Scotland) Act, which received Royal Assent on 14 July 2005. You can find
out more on the Scottish Executive's
website [external website].
Northern Ireland
The Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland has recently
finished a consultation on reforming charity law and regulation in Northern
Ireland. It has now published, for consultation, a draft Order in Council
that would give effect to the proposals.
