Our weekly round-up of news and updates from across the sector.

To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic.

Sector general

Civil Society has highlighted comments from Jamie Scudamore, Head of Partner Relations at the Prime Minister’s Partnerships Unit, speaking at the recent Association of Charitable Organisations conference. Scudamore said civil society would play an “even greater role” in the government’s plans and highlighted work on procurement, devolution and a new “capacity building programme across the civil service to help understand the sector better”.

Civil Society reports that a “constructive” first meeting took place between Kate Lee, Chief Executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, and Vicky Foxcroft, the newly appointed Minister for Civil Society.  The meeting included discussion of “the need to embed the principles of the Civil Society Covenant across the civil service”, alongside issues such as volunteer safety, charity campaigning, and sustainable funding.

The Charities Aid Foundation has published its latest World Giving Report: Charity Insights, based on responses from 5,483 charities across 33 countries. The report found that 67% of charities had experienced an increase in demand over the past year, with 38% reporting difficulties in meeting that demand.

Chetal Patel and Ellen Hadman have been looking at the latest Home Office migration transparency data which shows that enforcement is rising.  With the expansion of Right to Work requirements and record levels of Home Office enforcement, immigration compliance must be a priority for employers. Chetal Patel and Gill McKearney have put together a helpful FAQ designed to answer common questions, help organisations navigate the evolving rules and ensure their Right to Work processes remain compliant and fit for purpose.

Return to top.

Funders and funding

On Thursday 1 October, NPC is running a free event “Funder drop-in: Moving to unrestricted funding”. 

As announced by Civil Society, Arts Council England has simplified its application process for its 2028-33 National Portfolio funding programme, with successful applicants set to receive five years of funding rather than three.

Return to top.

Protecting children online

The European Commission has published a proposal for a new Regulation known as the EU Kids Act, which takes children and their safety and empowerment as the starting point for internet safety. The Act would set common age rules for the whole of the EU, including prohibiting social media accounts for under 13s, and impose safety by design on the services children use most, for example, by prohibiting designing services to encourage compulsive or excessive use by minors and ensuring nobody can message a child without pre-approval. The draft Act is accompanied by a Commission Staff Working Document covering an analysis of impacts and a Commission Communication on an EU approach to online child safety. The proposed Regulation will have to be adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure which means that the European Parliament and Council of the EU both must formally adopt the same final act before it can be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force.

The government had previously announced that it would ban social media for under 16s and restrict certain harmful features on other online services, including strangers contacting children. The government has recently published a fact sheet with more details on these measures.  We understand that the first set of Regulations to implement these changes are due to be laid before Parliament by the end of this year and the changes should be implemented in Spring 2027.

Natasha Davies and Anita Binns share an article about Ofcom’s Call for Evidence on the impact of its ‘A Safer Life Online for Women and Girls’ guidance.

Return to top.

Youth services

The government has announced plans to support the training and employment of 1000 new youth workers, and a £450 million new ‘Youth Matters’ Fund which will “help build, improve and expand spaces for young people to connect, while funding more youth work and enriching in-person activities, such as sports, music and volunteering”.

Also see below under “Health and social care”.

Return to top.

Health and social care

This press release shares details of the government’s Jobs Guarantee for young disabled people and those with long-term health conditions. 

The government has also provided an update on the “Keep Britain Working” project.  The project is an independent review of employers’ role in tackling health based economic inactivity and promoting healthy and inclusive workplaces.

Backed by £1.5 million funding from the Office for the Impact Economy, six sites will develop and test new neighbourhood health models that bring together NHS services, councils, community organisations and local people to “improve outcomes and tackle inequalities”. Macmillan Cancer support is acting as a cornerstone investor in the sites. Oliver Hunt, who advised Macmillan on their investment into West Herts, said: “This is a really exciting model, with the potential for replication across the country, giving local communities a strong voice in how their local services are managed. It was great to work with Macmillan and their pioneering team.”

Return to top.

Martyn’s Law

New guidance has been made available to help organisations determine the “principal use” of qualifying premises, in line with the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) (Principal Use of Premises) Regulations 2026 which will come into force on 15 October 2026. While the new duties under Martyn’s Law are not expected to apply until April 2027 at the earliest, organisations are taking steps now to prepare.   

Where a single qualifying premises has two or more uses listed in Schedule 1 to the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, the test in the guidance will apply.  It does not apply where separate qualifying premises exist within a larger site (e.g. an individual retail unit within a shopping centre). Maeve Bonner highlights these key points from the guidance: “The assessment is fact-specific and should be reviewed if the use of the premises changes. Once identified, the responsible person is responsible for compliance in relation to all activities carried on at the premises, not merely the principal use.”

Return to top.

Housing and homelessness

The government has recently announced the next phase of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 reforms. Janani Puvi and Maeve Bonner explain two significant developments for landlords.

Return to top.

Social enterprise

A new publication by Co-operatives UK, Co-operative and Mutual Economy 2026, aims to present data and analysis on co-operatives, mutuals, building societies and employee-owned businesses.  The report highlights the strength and potential of the sector, finding that it generates more than £240.7 billion in annual income, supports over 1.7 million jobs and accounts for more than 70 million memberships, but also that more support is needed to scale the sector.  It finds that co-operatives are more than twice as likely as wider businesses to survive the first five years and that they perform strongly on measures around fair work and women’s leadership. For more, Co-operatives UK has also commissioned research on workplace sexism and has highlighted key findings in a separate blog.

The European Commission has published Impact-driven businesses in the EU: State of play and future prospects, a detailed exploratory study of the emergence, diversity, and role of “impact-driven businesses” (defined as overlapping with, but wider than, social enterprise) across the EU. The report examines barriers to development and scaling, and considers possible areas for future EU action.

Return to top.

Social investment

Boston Consulting Group has issued The Multiplier Effect of Impact Capital, which examines barriers to greater use of impact-first investing. Drawing on a survey of over 100 funders and advisers, as well as in-depth interviews, the report finds that awareness of impact-first investing is high but capital allocation remains limited, and it identifies a lack of investable opportunities, impact measurement challenges, and limited expertise as key barriers.

A new global Social Investment Manifesto, unveiled by the Social Enterprise World Forum, calls on the social finance sector “to fix a structural mismatch between finance and mission-driven social enterprises”. The manifesto sets out seven recommendations for systemic change, including blended finance models, supportive policy levers, community wealth building, and system-wide infrastructure design.

British International Investment (BII) has launched a refreshed Gender and Inclusive Finance Toolkit for investors, fund managers, and businesses. The toolkit forms part of BII’s “commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment through investment” under its 2026–31 strategy, which includes a target for 30% of new investments to qualify under the 2X Challenge.

Access – The Foundation for Social Investment has announced the appointment of Daniela Barone Soares OBE as Chair Designate. Soares, formerly CEO of Snowball and Impetus, will succeed Nick Hurd as Chair at the end of September and will oversee the recruitment of a permanent Chief Executive.

A report from Funders Together, Transforming Places Together: Learning from 16 Years of Place-Based Giving, highlights how 27 place-based giving schemes across London, Bedford and Manchester have raised more than £92m for their communities.  It also sets out learning across four themes: purpose, power, relationships and resource flows.

Responsible Finance has made available its Analysis of enquiries to CDFIs to refinance high-interest loans, drawing on enquiries received by 10 Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) between March and June 2026. The research found that, of the 28 businesses CDFIs were able to refinance, loan repayments were reduced by an average of around £10,000 per month per business. The report also sets out key themes and recommendations arising from the research.

Return to top.

International development

Bond has welcomed comments by the UK Minister for Development and Africa, Kirsty McNeill MP, at the cross-party International Development Committee and at her speech for the New Economics Foundation. Bond supported McNeill’s emphasis on global cooperation and desire to rewrite the script on the UK’s development approach. Bond also urged the government to rule out further cuts to the UK aid budget and set out a pathway back to spending 0.7% of Gross National Income on aid.

Return to top.

Animal welfare

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has made the Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026 and the Veterinary Services Market Investigation Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Undertakings 2026 which implement remedies in the CMA’s final report on its market investigation into veterinary services for household pets. The CMA has published guidance for vets on how to comply with the Order (generally within three months for large business or six months for smaller businesses).

Return to top.

Education

General

The Department for Education (DfE) is consulting on proposed amendments to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations 2027 following the latest scheme valuation. The proposed changes include rebalancing member contribution tiers and clarifying existing policy positions, with the stated aim of supporting the effective operation of the scheme. The consultation is open until 30 October 2026.

The National Governance Association has published a blog on ensuring that strategy drives board business. It highlights the importance of governing boards keeping strategic priorities central to their agendas, monitoring progress and maintaining a clear distinction between strategic oversight and operational management.

A new statutory safeguarding information sharing duty comes into force on 30 September 2026, and will apply to a wide range of education and childcare providers in England. Jean Tsang and Rayhaan Vankalwala take a look at when information must be shared, what the changes mean for consent as well as the further practical steps providers should take now in our recent article here.

Schools

The DfE has announced plans to introduce new vocational GCSEs, which will sit alongside traditional GCSEs and replace existing Technical Awards. The qualifications will have nationally prescribed content, grading and assessment, with the aim of strengthening progression into further study, apprenticeships and employment. The reforms are accompanied by a new National Mission on Work Experience, which seeks to secure an additional 200,000 work experience placements for 14 to 16-year-olds and increase young people’s exposure to the workplace.

The DfE has also revealed the first phase of what it describes as the most comprehensive SEND teacher training offer in a generation, publishing free, adaptable training materials for schools and post-16 settings. The materials are intended to give teachers practical techniques to support children and young people with SEND and form part of a wider £200 million investment in teacher training, with further resources due to be published in January and April 2027.

Further details of the government’s Enrichment Expansion Programme are now available, including a list of the local authority areas selected to participate. The programme will provide funding and tailored support to more than 400 secondary schools in disadvantaged communities.  It will be delivered by the Youth Sport Trust and a network of national partners, with dedicated Enrichment Co-ordinators supporting schools to expand their extracurricular provision.

The DfE has unveiled its plans for a new whole-school approach to tackling misogyny, supported by practical guidance, teacher training and resources for parents. The initiative is intended to help schools challenge harmful attitudes, promote healthy relationships and address the influence of harmful online content. It builds on the government’s strengthened RSHE curriculum and is accompanied by new programmes under the Violence Against Women and Girls Prevention Programme aimed at improving young people’s attitudes towards healthy relationships and challenging misogynistic behaviour.

Britain’s Greatest Education Opportunity Ever, a report by Sir Anthony Seldon and Tim Bunting, calls for a national framework for the use of artificial intelligence in education. Its ten-point plan recommends that schools and colleges develop their own AI strategies, approved by governors and judged by Ofsted during inspections, alongside teacher training and clearer national leadership.

Schools Week reports that the Education Secretary is considering changes to Ofsted inspections in the coming months, amid concerns about school leader wellbeing. Separately, the National Association of Head Teachers has called for graded inspections to be paused while the inspection system is reviewed. Ofsted has said that inspections and grading will continue.

Further Education

FE Week has confirmed that plans to give mayoral strategic authorities greater control over 16-19 education budgets will not extend to growth and skills levy funding for apprenticeships for 16-18-year-olds. The devolved budgets will instead cover post-16 qualifications, including classroom-based provision in colleges.

Return to top.

Disclaimer – The information contained in this update is not intended to be a comprehensive update – it is our selection of the website announcements made in the week up to last Friday which we think will be of interest to charities and social enterprises. The views expressed in items we’ve included are the views of the named authors/sources, and should not be taken to be the views of Bates Wells, its partners or employees. The content in this update is necessarily of a general nature – specific advice should always be sought for specific situations.