Revolution or evolution? The future of charity regulation in England and Wales

My article considers how charity regulation in England and Wales may change in the future, how palatable those changes may be to the charity sector and what the future holds for the Charity Commission (adressing a 30% budgt cut). (See the November edition of Governance and Compliance Magazine, published by ICSA)

Key messages include:

Trustees are now expected to make their own judgements and use their discretion (without seeking prior re-assurances from the charity regulator);

Boards should consider arranging regular trustee training and address their board development and assessment arrangements;

Charity trustees should seek professional advice when appropriate (and may properly use charity funds to obtain the advice they need);

Boards need to "upskill" collectively and strengthen the management, financial and business skills of their individual members;

The Charity Commission will concentrate on core activities, including protecting charity assets and investigating alleged abuse, as well as ensuring compliance by charities with their annual public reporting and accountability;

Charities and trustees must "up their game" to ensure they do meet filing deadlines etc;

The regulator will cease offering wider good practice guidance, it will not involve itself in internal disputes and will only address public or member complaints if there appears to be serious misconduct (for instance alleged misappropriation of charitable funds).