Charities planning property disposals or new trustee appointments should monitor closely changes to the Charities Act 2022. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has recently updated its implementation plan for the final phase of Charities Act 2022 reforms. After several delays, the changes are now expected to come into force in 'early' 2024. The new reforms will include important changes to the rules on charity constitutions, charity land, mergers, trustee appointments and remuneration. The Commission will also update existing guidance to provide more clarity on the changes.
The DCMS has said that:
"Work is ongoing between DCMS, the Charity Commission and the Land Registry to implement these changes in the smoothest possible way. We will endeavour to deliver this work as quickly as possible to allow the sector to benefit from the changes."
The Charities Act 2022 which received Royal Assent on 24 February 2022 came into effect to address difficulties facing charities previously outlined in the Law Commission's Technical Issues in Charity Law report. The stated aim of the reforms is to save charities time and costs.
The first set of changes which came into force on 31 October 2022 included extended powers for charities to pay trustees, a new statutory power to amend Royal Charters, and simpler requirements for fundraising appeals. The second tranche which came into force on 14 June 2023 gave trustees greater flexibility in relation to disposals of charity land while increasing Commission powers to delay registration of charities with unsuitable names. In this second phase, the definition of a connected person was also updated to remove outdated language. For more details about the changes previously introduced, please see here.
Alongside changes to the Charities Act 2022, the DCMS will also review the financial thresholds in the Charities Act 2011 to consider whether they should be increased in line with inflation. Amendments to the Universities and College Estates Act 1925 are also still due to come into force in Spring 2025.
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