Legal Update - Charity Law

Adrian Wild reviews recent and potential changes to charity law.

The Charities Act 2006 (the Act), which applies in England and Wales, received Royal Assent on 8 November 2006. Since that date there have been 17 related Statutory Instruments either enacting various parts of the Act or amending the Act or other legislation. Despite this storm of change, the Act has yet to be fully enacted, with sections relating to charitable incorporated organisations and the licensing regime for charitable fundraising yet to come into effect.

Criticism

The Act has been widely criticised. There has been much concern about the statutory definition of 'charity', which includes the requirement to act for the 'public benefit'. In particular, the impact on charities which charge fees has been subject to much comment.

Other aspects of this legislation have also drawn censure. The Act created the Charity Tribunal, with the aim of simplifying the process for appealing against Charity Commission rulings or having Charity Commission decisions reviewed. While this is a laudable aim, there is concern...