Sharper focus on charity activities

The Draft Protection of Charities Bill, published last week, makes significant changes to the ways an individual can be disqualified from acting as a charity trustee. The powers outlined in the Draft Bill will also enable the Charity Commission to issue official warnings to charities about which it has concerns, and “allow it to take swift and proportionate action in situations where more forceful intervention would not be appropriate”.

The Government will be giving £8m to the Commission over three years to invest in technology and frontline operations, allowing it to streamline lower risk work and strengthen its ability to identify abuse and mismanagement.

Changes to the Charity Commission’s annual return are being introduced from 2015, aiming to “strengthen its ability to identify risk”. From next year organisations will be required to reveal how much income they receive from central or local government, either to deliver services or in the form of grants. The new returns will also ask whether charities have a policy on paying their staff, and whether financial controls have been reviewed during the reporting period.

Paula Sussex, Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, said: “The public rightly expects charities to be accountable and transparent. They also expect us to regulate effectively and to use the tools at our disposal to do so. This additional information will help achieve both aims.”