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
- Investigations and complaints
- Community benefit societies
- Governance
- Tax and VAT
- Sector general
- Climate change and environment
- Equity, equality, diversity and inclusion
- Funders and funding
- Fundraising
- Technology
- Public procurement and subsidy control
- Company law
- Children’s services
- Health and social care
- Investment
- Social enterprise
- Social investment / social impact investment
- Faith-based organisations
- International development
- Armed forces charities
- Education
Charity Commission
The Committee of Privileges has published a report considering the actions of the Charity Commission in relation to parliamentary privilege and two reports laid before Parliament by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA) about safeguarding issues. The Committee’s report concludes that the Charity Commission sought, through legal action, to prevent the laying of special reports which criticised its behaviour before Parliament and that, in doing so, the Commission committed a contempt of Parliament. The report said, “Whatever the Commission’s concerns about the PCA and its remit, the obstruction of provision of information to Parliament is wholly unacceptable.” Commission Chair Dame Julia Unwin has offered an unreserved apology on behalf of the Board of the Charity Commission. The Government has two months to respond to the report’s recommendations.
Investigations and complaints
The Charity Commission has opened separate statutory inquiries into Staffordshire Winter Sports Club and Bison in the Community (which have trustees in common) following assessment of concerns relating to each charity’s governance, financial management, and independence. Concerns have also been raised about the charities’ ice rink pricing and the ability of the public to access its services.
Community benefit societies
The Law Commission project to review the law relating to community benefit societies has issued an update that, due to internal resourcing and scheduling, its final Report and draft Bill will now be published in early 2027. For anyone interested in their review of the Friendly Societies Acts 1992 and 1974: the Law Commission intends to publish its report and draft Bill this autumn, potentially in September.
Governance
Lucy Rhodes, Philip Kirkpatrick, Oliver Hunt and Olivia Woodward share key insights from our recent corporate foundations roundtable. This includes reflections on trustee duties, balancing strategic alignment and independence, and the important relationship between the foundation and the corporate entity.
Tax and VAT
HMRC has published a policy paper, draft legislation and explanatory note about a new measure, taking effect from 1 April 2027, giving search and rescue charities an exemption from vehicle excise duty on eligible vehicles.
Sector general
Civil Society has collated some sector views on what could be expected from an Andy Burnham government. The article highlights blogs from Kate Lee OBE (Chief Executive Officer, NCVO) and Anoushka Kenley (Head of Social Sector, Pro Bono Economics). For example, Kenley’s blog says that Burnham “places a real focus on involving civil society in co-designing and co-delivering government and community services”.
A government readout of the second Civil Society Council meeting highlights comments from care minister Stephen Kinnock, who outlined the government’s vision for preventative, community-based health and care services. The Council discussed ways to improve ways of working between civil society and the government. For example, by identifying barriers preventing civil society from engaging in public procurement and developing training to “build capability and understanding across the civil service and civil society”. A Civil Society article includes further comments on the Civil Society Covenant.
Climate change and environment
You’ll be aware some organisations have already given nature a role in their governance. Along the same lines, the Guardian reports that a Scottish charity, the Scottish Association for Marine Science, has made the ocean a trustee.
Equity, equality, diversity and inclusion
As you’ll have seen in the press, the revised Equality and Human Rights Commission Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations will come into force on Wednesday 5 August. This updated Services Code will provide guidance on the application of the Equality Act 2010 in light of the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment For Women Scotland, which courts and tribunals must take into account when deciding claims under that Act. The Charity Commission has confirmed that it plans to issue supplementary guidance in the Autumn – but that this will not alter the fundamental principles in the Code.
An update from Mindy Jhittay and Suhan Rajkumar explains what these changes mean and how they can help if you have any questions.
Civil Society has highlighted comments made at a Board Racial Diversity UK panel event at PwC UK, where the organisation’s chief executive Yeme Onoabhagbe said that inclusion is often “the first thing to be deprioritised” when organisations are under strain.
Also see ‘Funders and funding’ below.
Funders and funding
New Philanthropy Capital has found that for every £1 of funding directed towards young people, only 1p is directed specifically towards boys and young men. There are more details in ‘The invisible field’, which analysed £2.62bn of youth funding awarded between 2020 and 2025 and found that just £28.5m (1.09%) went to organisations specifically focused on boys and young men. Also see this accompanying blog.
Fundraising
The Fundraising Regulator has shared new research (carried out by Opinium) on how the public perceives charitable fundraising. 64% who experienced fundraising said their experience of supporting charities was positive, and they were more likely to say they would support charities again in the future. Door to door fundraising was found (for the second time) to be the method people are least comfortable with, but there have been “encouraging improvements” in this area.
The Gambling Commission has published its third annual Gambling Survey for Great Britain.
Technology
Following our recent ‘Innovate for Impact: Empowering charities through technology event’, we share guidance from Richard Marke, Rayhaan Vankalwala and Caroline Morris about how charities can strengthen their resilience before, during and after a ransomware attack, and from Laura Hobbs, Olivia Hyland, and Caroline Morris on how technology can empower charities to drive positive change.
Public procurement and subsidy control
See ‘Sector general’ above.
Company law
Companies House has published its annual report and accounts 2025-2026. Highlights from the year include beginning the 12-month transition period to mandatory identity verification for company directors and people with significant control, as well as taking steps to reduce misuse of the company register such as targeted action against 157,679 companies.
Children’s services
As you probably saw in the press, last week the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology published its final response to the ‘Growing up in the online world’ consultation. This press release summarises the government’s proposals, including that the first set of regulations on the social media restrictions will be laid before Parliament by the end of this year, with measures expected to come into force in spring 2027.
Meanwhile, in the EU, an expert panel on child safety online has published its report on children’s safety online. You can download the report from a European Commission press release.
The Law Commission has launched a consultation on kinship care. Responses must be submitted by 16 October 2026.
Health and social care
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has appointed Emily Miles as its Chief Executive from this autumn.
The CQC has also published a report from its first national programme assessing local authorities and how they are providing adult social care. 60% of those assessed were rated as ‘good’, and the report found that strong leadership is the most important factor for the quality of people’s experience of care.
And the CQC has assessed the quality of care in Defence Medical Services for 2025/26, finding that military personnel and their entitled dependents “continue to receive prompt access to almost all services, and most have a very short wait to see a healthcare professional”.
Last week the government announced businesses, charities and innovators can apply for a share of up to £60 million to “transform how disabled people and those with health conditions are supported into work”.
See ‘Sector general’ above.
Investment
To support the Charity Investment Governance Principles (which were first published in 2025), there is now a Self-Assessment Tool trustees and staff can use to check investment governance procedures at their charity and to see how they compare against the key outcomes outlined in the Principles. Luke Fletcher comments “The self-assessment tool provides an ideal starting point for charities wanting to understand their own investment practices and identify opportunities to strengthen investment governance. It is easy to use, maps to the Charity Investment Governance Principles and is a simple first step on the investment governance journey.”
Social enterprise
The Cabinet Office is seeking expressions of interest (until 6 August 2026) for membership of a new Impact Economy Advisory Council, which will advise the government on policy, strategy and engagement relating to the impact economy. This council will be supported by the Office for the Impact Economy and bring together representatives from across impact investing, philanthropy, and purpose-driven business.
The Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) has published ‘The Role of Social Enterprise in Transforming the UK Food System’, a policy briefing that draws on evidence from the Social Enterprise Food Systems project. It finds that social enterprises can deliver food-related interventions that are “trusted, culturally sensitive, and integrated with wider support for health, wellbeing and social care”, by being embedded in communities and connecting food with other policy priorities, but that policy interventions are required to support this. For more, CUSP has published an article discussing the findings.
Locality, Power to Change and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation have published ‘Keys to the future: How we build a new era of community ownership’. The report highlights strong government support for community asset ownership, including the recent announcement of a “Pride in Place Community Right to Buy Fund”, but sets out findings on the limitations in funding design and availability and other support and coordination required to help potential community businesses come into fruition. The report calls for a National Community Ownership Strategy and a £1bn fund over the next five years, through philanthropic capital, social investment and public funding, and outlines the roles that different stakeholders could play in supporting the growth of community ownership.
Boston Consulting Group has announced the winner and finalists of its 2026 UK Social Enterprise Award, delivered in partnership with Ashoka, Impact Hub, and the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation. The award supports social enterprises working in health, education, and social mobility through coaching, feedback, and strategic support.
Social investment / social impact investment
Responsible Finance has highlighted new government and private sector backing for Community Development Finance Institutions. The government’s announcement includes support through the British Business Bank’s Community ENABLE Funding programme, a £10m commitment from JPMorganChase, and new support from BNY to help strengthen community finance and improve access to funding for underserved businesses.
Good Finance has summarised key themes emerging from Good Finance Live 2026, including partnership working, power dynamics between investors and investees, and investment readiness. The article reflects on how charities and social enterprises can prepare for social investment and navigate the funding process more effectively.
Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) has published ‘Addressing the Funding Gap of LGBTQ+ Support Organisations: Can social investment be part of the solution’, a report that draws on SEUK’s State of Social Enterprise data and case studies. The report highlights barriers to accessing finance for social enterprises that provide services to LGBTQ+ people and makes recommendations aimed at improving awareness, access, and support.
Access – The Foundation for Social Investment has published an independent evaluation of the Enterprise Development Programme, which supported over 325 charities and social enterprises between 2019 and 2024. The evaluation examines the programme’s effect on enterprise development, organisational resilience, and income diversification, and highlights factors that contributed to successful outcomes.
Faith-based organisations
An article from Hugo Walford explores how faith-based charities can sometimes find themselves slightly more at risk of regulatory action than other charities. Hugo shares tips about what they can do to avoid common pitfalls, or to respond if they find themselves engaged by the Charity Commission or experiencing a serious incident.
International development
Bond has analysed the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26 and summarised how aid to some of the “lowest income and fragile and conflict affected countries will face significant cuts”. The article sets out examples of funding cuts including that, by 2029, bilateral UK aid funding to Malawi and Mozambique will be reduced by 90%.
Armed forces charities
See ‘Health and social care’ above.
Education
See ‘Children’s services‘ above.
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.