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.

Charity Commission

Updated guidance on raising concerns

The Charity Commission has updated its guidance on raising a concern with the Commission (CC47). The press release notes that the guidance is designed to “help people find the most appropriate route for raising any concerns, while being clear when it is unlikely to be able to act”. The guidance includes advice about when reports should be made to a different regulator and outlines how the Commission prioritises concerns which may cause the “greatest impact or harm to charities and public trust and confidence in charities.” The updated guidance is now also acting as the Commission’s Regulatory and Risk Framework, replacing the Commission’s previous Regulatory and Risk Framework which has been withdrawn.

Unsuccessful freedom of information request to the Charity Commission

A charity, Suffolk Befriending Scheme, has been unsuccessful in an attempt to require the Charity Commission to disclose about a complaint made relating to the charity.  The Commission relied on Sections 31(3) (prejudice to the public authority’s functions) and Section 40(5) (personal information) as grounds for refusing to disclose information, and both the Information Commissioner and the Information Tribunal have upheld the Commission’s decision. The case revolved around a member of staff who was pursuing a grievance and raised an allegation with the trustees. The same staff member also reported the allegations to funders and the police. The charity, through the FOI request was trying to find out if it was these allegations which had prompted a letter from the Commission to the charity about potential regulatory concerns.

See ‘Investigations and complaints’ below.

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Investigations and complaints

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into The Outreach Ministry and restricted the charity’s trustees from carrying out certain financial transactions without the Commission’s prior approval. This follows a regulatory compliance case that was opened last November. After inspecting the charity’s bank account, the Commission identified several payments with references to the trustees and potentially related parties that “cannot be adequately explained”, as well as payments that might not be furthering the charity’s purpose.

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Charity law cases

The First Tier Tribunal (General Regulatory) has struck out an appeal in City Doctoral Researchers’ Association v The Charity Commission for England and Wales upholding the Tribunal’s original decision that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case. City Doctoral Researchers’ Association had originally filed a complaint to the Charity Commission regarding the European Academy of Optometry and Optics (EAOO), citing harmful and discriminatory practices of a Fellow of EAOO and broader implications for the charity, its members, beneficiaries and the public. The issue in the case centred on whether an email from the Commission, when handling the complaint, was a ‘decision, direction or order’ within the meaning of s.319 of the Charities Act 2011, and thus capable of appeal to the Tribunal. The absence of a formal decision by the Commission meant that it did not fall within this definition, nor under s.321 as a ‘reviewable matter’.

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Spending review

Following the Treasury’s Spending Review 2025 last week, we have collated various reactions from the sector.

  • NCVO has shared its thoughts, including the continued strain on local government budgets.
  • Bond has calculated that there is a very slow reduction in the use of the UK aid budget towards asylum costs in the UK and expresses overall disappointment in terms of the scale and impact of the cuts to Official Development Assistance.
  • The Directory of Social Change has shared its summary and conclusions, highlighting implications for social housing and homelessness, health and social care, welfare and poverty.
  • Civil Society has published an article summarising responses from the charity sector. Richard Sagar, Head of Policy at the Charity Finance Group, commented “While the chancellor’s announcement will not be cause for celebration, the targeted increases for the NHS, local government and housing will provide vital support for charities operating across these sectors”.
  • Many sources have flagged the Charity Commission’s increased budget, which is set to rise by more than a quarter, and is something many in the sector have campaigned for. Civil Society has reported that the Commission plans to spend funding on areas including digital and AI technology and hiring more staff.

See also under Education, Scotland and social investment.

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Tax and VAT

Charity Tax Group (CTG) has shared that a number of its members are finding their gift aid claims are taking longer to be paid.  In some cases, large claims are being wholly rejected due to small errors on a small number of entries within the overall claim. CTG says it does appear that HMRC are applying a more rigorous checking procedure before making repayments. CTG is going to contact HMRC to see if it can gain a better understanding of what the checks are so that charities can be better prepared to avoid delays in getting their repayments.

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Fundraising events

HMRC has published a brief confirming its interpretation of the VAT exemption for fundraising events.  This follows the Upper Tribunal decision earlier this year that the Yorkshire Agricultural Show could qualify for the VAT exemption, as the show had two equally important “primary” purposes of fundraising and education.  The HMRC Brief confirms HMRC has not appealed the decision and says “Following the Upper Tribunal decision, HMRC’s policy remains that the primary purpose of the event must be that of fundraising and that the event must be advertised as a fundraising event.  If a charity or other qualifying body considers that an event has more than one primary purpose, they must be able to evidence this and provide a clear explanation as to why they cannot be separated in terms of importance. Events which are not organised to raise funds, but which incidentally make a profit do not fall within the exemption and the Upper Tribunal has agreed with this interpretation.”

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Sector general

The Institute for Government is holding an online event on 19 June to discuss the Nolan Principles on their 30th anniversary and how ethical standards can be upheld in the future.

The King’s Birthday Honours List has recognised the contributions of many leading figures in the voluntary sector.

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Financial thresholds in charity law

The Directory of Social Change has shared its response to the Charity Law Threshold changes, highlighting the importance of increasing the thresholds to maintain proportionate regulation for smaller charities against the backdrop of inflation.

The Institute for Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has also shared its submission and has similar concerns that the thresholds, particularly for audit, need to be raised to reduce the challenge of cost and availability for charities. It has also suggested additional tests, such as thresholds for audit and independent examination only applying if they are met two out of three years (mirroring the approach for statutory audit in the Companies Act), rather than a single financial period.

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Equity, equality, diversity and inclusion

Civil Society has reported on comments from the charity Board Racial Diversity UK, calling on charities to stop using informal trustee recruitment and instead use more formal, open recruitment and reach out to diverse networks to increase the racial diversity of charity boards. The charity’s strategy focuses on recruiting 60,000 new Black and Asian trustees to boards across the UK, in order to achieve proportional representation.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity has announced a new steering group to support disabled candidates to enter elected office. The group, drawing on their lived experience, will advise on a new fund for disability-related expenses that candidates may incur.

Baroness Falkner, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR) and John Kirkpatrick its Chief Executive, appeared before the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) last week. The WEC holds a scrutiny role in relation to the EHRC and this meeting was part of that standard process. Matters discussed included the EHRC’s interim update following the For Women Scotland judgement, the consultation on its revised Code of Practice and intimidation experienced by EHRC personnel.

The Good Law Project has filed an application for judicial review against the EHRC and the Equalities Minister, Bridget Phillipson, challenging the interim update issued by the EHRC on 26 April 2025.

See Health and Social care below.

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Campaigning

See Education below.

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Funders and funding

UKGrantmaking (a collaborative project run by various organisations) has shared its latest UKGrantmaking report, which analyses grant making in 2023/24 from government, trusts and foundations, National Lottery distributors, donor advised funds, and charities. This found that over 14,000 grantmakers gave grants of over £23 billion (an increase of 7%, which is slightly above inflation). Trusts and foundations were the largest source of grant income to the voluntary and community sector, overtaking the government (though government remains the main source of contract income).

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Fundraising

Civil Society has summarised the findings from the second Charity Well survey: a survey of wellbeing in the fundraising workforce. These include that only 36% of respondents felt that their workload was achievable and out of the six recognised areas of wellbeing, mental and emotional wellbeing was the worst scoring. A full report of the findings will be made available in the summer.

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF) held its annual Fundraising Convention last week. Civil Society has reported on comments made by CIoF at that convention, including that the fundraising profession is frequently “misunderstood and underfunded” and that CIoF is finalising a new strategy, which will include five and ten-year goals and will begin in January 2026. Civil Society reported that CIoF plans to “create accessible career pathways, expand training and certification opportunities, and launch new mentorship programmes to nurture early-career fundraisers.”

Civil Society has also reported on a panel event at the CIoF convention which discussed how to approach urgent fundraising campaigns, including the importance of being transparent with the charity’s supporters about why the campaigns are needed.  

See ‘AI’ below and ‘tax and VAT’ above.

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Advertising

The Advertising Standards Agency has asked the Committees of Advertising Practice to pause its consultation on rules and guidance surrounding advertising of ‘less healthy’ food and drink products (“LHF”). This is following a government announcement that signals the intent to further legislation to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’ from the scope of the LHF restrictions.

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Volunteering

Reach Volunteering’s Chief Executive Janet Thorne has shared a blog which makes the case that we’re seeing a profound shift in how and why people volunteer, with many people getting involved in small, volunteer-led organisations which fly under the radar.

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Data and privacy

The Data (Use and Access) Bill has completed its passage through both Houses of Parliament and will now be submitted for Royal Assent.  See comment here from Bates Wells partner Hannah Lyons on why the Bill brings good news for charities. Eleonor Duhs and team will be discussing the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and its practical implications on a webinar at 3pm on 2nd July.

SCVO has published a blog and resources with tips about spotting cyber risks and keeping your organisation safe.

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AI

The Directory of Social Change has shared this article with tips on how to use AI in marketing.

See under social enterprise news below.

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Scotland

OSCR has reminded Scottish charities that new rules on the automatic disqualification of individuals from acting in Scottish charities will come into force on 31 August 2025 under the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023.

The government has published a press release highlighting key funding allocations for Scotland in the 2025 Spending Review, with the Scottish government receiving its largest real terms settlement of £50.9 billion per year on average between 2026/27 and 2028/29. Amongst other things, the government has confirmed an extra £9.1 billion over the spending review period to deliver public services, as well as £8.3 billion in funding for GB Energy-Nuclear and GB Energy in Aberdeen.

See ‘Data and privacy’ above.

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Health and social care

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published new research into workforce inequalities across health and adult social care, highlighting widespread unfair treatment—particularly on the grounds of race or ethnicity. The CQC commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies and IFF Research to carry out the report which draws on surveys, other research and organisational case studies to explore how discrimination manifests in workplace culture, leadership attitudes, and systemic structures. The CQC has said that it will use the research to influence its regulatory response, such as training inspectors to spot signs of unfair treatment.

See advertising above.

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Social enterprise

The Interconnectivity of Impact. Social Enterprise UK has published an article exploring purpose-led community activity in Ashford, England, which has been named a Social Enterprise Place – an area where social enterprise activity is thriving.  

Co-operatives welcomed at Downing Street as government reaffirms pledge to double the sector. Co-operatives UK reported from a government-hosted event at which participants reaffirmed the Government’s manifesto pledge to double the size of the co-operative and mutuals sector, with ministers “outlining a renewed policy focus on enabling growth, innovation and investment within the social economy”. Co-operatives UK noted developments discussed at the event, including a new ‘Business Growth Service’ and the launch of a Call for Evidence on Co-operatives and Mutuals. The article also notes that financial mutuals will not be in-scope for the Call for Evidence.

The Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies (CICs) has made updates to its guidance on its webpage Community interest companies: forms and step-by-step guides. A new Conversion checklist for a CIC has been added, as well as a Community Interest Companies online application checklist that is linked within the main guidance document.

For those interested in the AI impact space, Impact Europe has published a blog considering how AI currently intersects with the work of impact-driven organisations. To gather views and experiences from organisations using AI, Impact Europe has included a short survey.

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Social investment/social impact investment

For the social investment sector, the Spending Review confirms that an announcement on the anticipated social impact investment vehicle will be made over the summer. James Somerville, National Philanthropy Capital (NPC) Head of Policy, responded to the spending review, commenting that “it’s vital that the government works with the impact sector across all of its missions”.

Impact Europe has published a report on the outcomes of its 5-year EU-funded market building project in Eastern Europe, Collaborate For Income, ahead of the project coming to an end in the summer (landing page and article on a regional gathering that discusses the report). The report highlights some possibilities from catalytic funding, showcasing the project’s impact funds, key stories and investors, stakeholder engagement, its impact in times of war and pandemics, as well as impact measurement and management. Over its lifespan, the project set up 3 impact funds in Armenia, Ukraine and Georgia, collectively supporting 91 social enterprises financially and 250 social enterprises non-financially. In total, over €1.2 million was distributed in support and the funds’ teams mobilised an addition €1 million.

What are social investors really looking for? Good Finance has published a blog post outlining key insights from its ‘Ask the Investor’ panel, which brought together leaders from Social Investment Business, Big Issue Invest, Resonance and Charity Bank. The blog considers what social investment looks like from the investor’s perspective, as well as tips for organisations seeking social investment and how investment can be made more accessible.

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Animal welfare

The Competition and Markets Authority has published a notice of extension of inquiry period and updated administrative timetable in relation to its market investigation into the UK supply of veterinary services and medications for household pets. The inquiry period has been extended by six months, meaning the new deadline for the final report is 22 May 2026.

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Education

General

Sir Martyn Oliver, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, has confirmed in a letter to the Secretary for State, Bridget Philipson, that Ofsted’s formal response to its consultation on reforming education inspections will now be published in September (rather than within the summer term) due to the volume of feedback (over 6,500 responses) received. Philipson has responded to the letter, expressing  disappointment for the delay and confirming that the department will also share its consultation response in September.

Dame Christine Gilbert has been announced as the next chair of Ofsted, replacing Sir Hamid Patel, interim chair, from 1 September 2025.

The Department for Education (DfE) has published its whistleblowing policy, outlining what the department defines as whistleblowing and how it will handle disclosures.

Schools

Dame Victoria Sharp, Lord Justice Newey and Mr Justice Chamberlain have dismissed the recent High Court challenge to the government’s VAT on school fees policy brought by private schools, families and the Independent Schools Council (ISC). The written judgment finds that the policy is not incompatible with human rights and is “proportionate” to the policy’s “legitimate aims of raising revenues, ensuring fairness, protecting those with acute needs and minimising the administrative burden and the potential for abuse”. The BBC has published an article on the ruling, reporting that, “some of the schools and families supported by the Christian Legal Centre have said they plan to appeal the ruling”.

The Spending Review means that the core schools’ budget will increase by £2 billion over the review’s term, delivering a £4.7 billion cash increase per year by 2028/29 (equating to an average real terms growth of 1.1% a year per pupil). Further key funding allocations and announcements include:

  • £410 million per year by 2028/29 to expand Free School Meals eligibility to all pupils with a parent in receipt of Universal Credit and £80 million per year by 2028-29 for early years and post-16 settings to support this expansion.
  • A Schools White Paper in the autumn with details of the government’s intended approach to SEND.
  • Around £2.4 billion per year for the School Rebuilding Programme over the next four years.
  • An increase in annual maintenance investment to around £2.3 billion in 2029/30 to improve the condition of the school estate.
  • Making available £2.6 billion from 2026/27 to 2029/30 to fund provision of mainstream school places needed to meet future demographic needs.

Commenting on the funding for schools, National Governance Association (NGA) Chief Executive, Emma Balchin, said, “NGA is genuinely delighted that in an era where every pound is scrutinised and competing demands are fierce, education has been recognised as the priority it should always be”. For more on the spending review for education, Schools Week has published an article outlining its key inclusions.

The DfE has launched a package of measures to transform how schools use AI, including new guidance for schools and colleges. For a summary of some of the key areas of the new guidance, see this article from Schools Week.

The DfE has published its annual data for the 2024/25 academic year on special educational needs (SEN) in England. The data finds that over 1.7 million pupils in England have SEN, which is an increase of 93,700 or 5.6% since 2024. Further, over 1.7 million 1 in 20 children in England now have an education, health and care plan (EHCP), bringing the total number of pupils with EHCPs to 482,640 which is an 11 per cent increase from the previous academic year. Schools Week has published an article unpacking additional key findings from this data in light of the government’s planned SEND reforms.

Further Education

The government has allocated £1.2 billion per year by 2028/29 for skills in the Spending Review. The funding will support over 1.3 million 16–19-year-olds to access high-quality training and it will also deliver £625 million between 2025/26 and 2028/29 to train up to 60,000 skilled construction workers, as announced at Spring Statement 2025. See commentary from FE Week.

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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.