On 24 February 2022, the Charities Bill received Royal Assent and passed into law as the Charities Act 2022. The recommendations from the Law Commission formed the basis for the new legislation, and the Act is designed to give charity trustees greater flexibility to manage charities more effectively. We do not consider the changes will … Read more …
In response to lockdown restrictions and ongoing concern for people’s health, many churches have been holding their general meetings online – either amending their constitutions to allow for this, or (when it was in force from June 2020 to March 2021) making use of the Government’s emergency legislation. Some churches will have struggled with online … Read more …
The Fundraising Regulator turned five this summer and has just published new guidance on the four key values underpinning the Code of Fundraising Practice – legal, open, honest and respectful. Who is the Fundraising Regulator? The Regulator manages a system of fundraising self-regulation and provides advice to two main constituencies – fundraisers and members of … Read more …
Charities registered in England or Wales need to send an ‘annual return’ to the Charity Commission or report their income and spending every year (depending on the charity’s annual income). Find out more about what your annual return should include, and other reporting obligations to the Charity Commission in our article here. Filing extensions – … Read more …
Please note this article covers legislation changes relevant only to England and Wales. This does not affect marriage registration in either Scotland or Northern Ireland, where a schedule system is already in place for marriages and civil partnerships. Marriage registration moves online The way that marriages are registered in England and Wales has changed. Until … Read more …
An end to the provisions for members’ meetings We have all felt the impact of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions in our churches as we’ve been unable to meet together in person as church family to worship God or to take decisions about the life of our church. Often our church governance documents have not made … Read more …
Please note the flexibilities on how members’ meetings are held came to an end on 30th March 2021. While the flexibilities have now expired, you will still find useful information in our article below and our adjoining advice note if you are thinking about holding a virtual members meeting. Download advice note ‘Remote members’ meetings … Read more …
Many smaller churches which are affiliated to the FIEC or another umbrella body are currently excepted from the requirement to register with the Charity Commission. This excepted status for churches is due to come to an end in March 2031 and it is possible that the Commission will enable or invite registrations from excepted churches … Read more …
In December the government made public their intention to extend the Excepting Regulations for smaller charities by 10 years. The relevant legislation has now come into effect, so the deadline for registration is now 31 March 2031. The Excepting Regulations mean that many smaller churches which are affiliated to the FIEC or another umbrella body … Read more …
Many Christian charities (whether churches or other organisations) operate as either a charitable trust or a charitable unincorporated association (CUA). Historically, the only realistic alternative to these structures (other than incorporating the body of trustees, which is relatively uncommon) was for a charity to incorporate as a company limited by guarantee, but this brought with … Read more …
