Charities Act 2006 - What's new?

The fourth commencement order of the Charities Act 2006 was made on 31 March 2008, which includes the new statutory definition of ‘charity’ and various accounting and reporting changes.

The main provisions the fourth commencement order brings into force on 1st April are:

• a new statutory definition of charity comprising a list of descriptions of charitable purposes and the public benefit requirement.  All purposes that were previously accepted as charitable will continue to be recognised as such; 
• the removal of the long-standing presumption of public benefit for charities established for the advancement of education, the relief of poverty, or the advancement of religion;
• a requirement for charity trustees to have regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when exercising powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant;
• provisions relating to the preparation and scrutiny of charity group accounts; and
• provisions clarifying the whistle-blowing duties of auditors or independent examiners.

If you think any of these changes may affect your charity and you would like to discuss these further, please contact Chris Knight.