Our weekly roundup 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.

Investigations and complaints

The Fundraising Regulator has published the results of its investigation into two community interest companies, Atoma Union CIC and Youth Works Union CIC.  Four complaints had been made about possible street fundraising, two of which described verbal and physical altercations.  On the balance of probabilities, the Fundraising Regulator considered it reasonable to conclude both CICs were fundraising without the necessary licences. Breaches of the 2019 Code of Fundraising Practice were identified in relation to behaviour, licences, and permission.

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Community Interest Companies (CICs)

If you have filed your CIC accounts online using the Package Accounts Upload Service, Companies House is asking for your feedback about your experience to help make filing simpler and more effective.

    The Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies has updated the webpage listing newly registered CICs, to include those registered in July 2026.

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    Sector general

    In case you missed it, last month the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched a call for evidence on the future of National Lottery good cause funding. DCMS says it wants to hear from the public on how National Lottery funding can better align with modern priorities, reach the areas that need it most and how NL can reduce bureaucracy. Views are welcomed from individuals and organisations across the UK.

    Also see below under ‘Philanthropy‘.

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    Philanthropy

    Philanthropy Impact has published the 2026 Ariadne Forecast, a report drawing on insights from around 130 philanthropic leaders, practitioners and partners across Europe to explore the “key trends, risks and opportunities shaping the future of civil society and philanthropy”.

    Neighbourly’s Giving Without Guessing report (produced in partnership with Lidl GB) found that just 3% of charities believe corporate support currently reflects local need “very well”, while 95% feel smaller charities are overlooked in corporate giving decisions.

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    Data and privacy

    Free training

    The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is offering new, free data protection training for SMEs. Data Protection Essentials is designed for organisations that: 

    • have less than 250 employees;
    • don’t have a Data Protection Officer; and
    • aren’t undertaking high-risk data processing.

    The programme comprises 13 bite-sized modules, each taking 10 to 15 minutes, which participants can complete at their own pace. It uses sector-relevant examples for the education and childcare, health and social care, professional services, retail and property sectors. It covers common activities, including:

    • Sharing information with others.
    • Managing records securely.
    • Supporting marketing and customer engagement.
    • Reducing the risk of data breaches.

    Reprimand after cyber security breach

    The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued a reprimand to ACRO Criminal Records Office (ACRO) after cyber security failings left the personal information of up to ten thousand people potentially exposed. The data potentially exposed included names, dates of birth, addresses, National Insurance numbers, passport and driving licence details, bank account information, biometric data, and highly sensitive criminal offence and special category information. The ICO found that although ACRO had engaged third-party providers to deliver certain security services, including patch management, ACRO did not ensure clear responsibility for identifying and monitoring critical content management system security updates, failed to maintain an effective patch management process, and did not adequately investigate security alerts that could have identified the hacker’s activity earlier.

    Rayhaan Vankalwala comments “‘The reprimand serves as a reminder that the ICO expects organisations to take cybersecurity seriously, not only in relation to their own organisation, but also the suppliers that they use. It is important that organisations think carefully about their internal processes and arrangements with suppliers so that (i) the personal data that they hold is sufficiently protected, (ii) their security measures are routinely tested and patched where needed, and (iii) they can recognise and react to any suspicious activity.”

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    AI

    The government is publicising an “AI bootcamp” aimed at young people out of work or at risk of entering unemployment after school.  The scheme will provide recruits with 3 weeks of workplace skills and AI training including learning to build AI tools and understand how businesses use AI, how AI can generate draft guides and documentation, and how to use AI responsibly and alongside human oversight and quality control.

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    Public procurement and subsidy control

    The government has committed to implement changes to the subsidy control regime, based on the recommendations from the Competition and Markets Authority. 

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    Membership and subscription contracts

    Last week the Prime Minister’s Office announced that the government will bring the subscription contracts regime under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 into force in January 2027 (several months earlier than the previously expected spring 2027).  After advocacy from the sector, concerns about disproportionate administration and exploitation of cooling-off period rules, and against a backdrop of concerns about Gift Aid on subscriptions being put at risk, the Government has previously confirmed it will remove certain charitable memberships from the new subscription regime, described as “contracts which are between a charity and a consumer and that allow consumers to attend performances, see collections, or visit places (for example, museums, galleries, historical properties, landscapes, wildlife, performing arts) which are related to [their] charitable purpose”. We await further details of this which we expect will be in secondary legislation.

    Mark Abbott, partner and parliamentary agent at Bates Wells, says that “the matter is worth considering, even for charities – and there are now only four months until implementation. The DMCCA’s enhanced subscriptions regime may still apply to subscriptions by charities which do not fall within the limited exemption (relating to performances, collections and visiting places). Charities may also wish to take this opportunity to consider whether and how existing consumer law (including e.g. cooling-off periods) apply to their activities”.

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    Health and social care

    Disabled people and people with long-term health conditions are being invited to take part in a series of workshops that will help shape recommendations for the future of Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

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    Social enterprise

    In an opinion piece for Civil Society Media, Social Enterprise UK CEO, Peter Holbrook, comments on the government’s recent social value reforms in public procurement. The article welcomes increased weighting for social value in larger contracts, while raising concerns about, among other points, the removal of supplier diversity from scored outcomes.

    Social Investment Business (SIB) has shared research findings from the £30.5m Better Youth Spaces Fund, examining the organisations funded and the young people accessing youth provision. Drawing on data from over 700 applications across 42 local authorities, the research highlights the concentration of funding in deprived areas and patterns in how young people engage with youth services, as well as the importance of physical assets.

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    Social investment / social impact investment

    Social Investment Business (SIB) and the think-tank and consultancy NPC have launched a report, Segmenting the impact economy: A framework for directing finance effectively, which aims to help policymakers, funders and investors better understand the differing financing needs of organisations across the impact economy. The report argues that clearer distinctions between organisational models could help ensure that the right forms of funding and finance reach different types of organisations.

    Better Society Capital has published an interview with Andrew Hall, Principal Investment Manager at Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF), exploring the role of Social Outcomes Partnerships (SOPs) within GMPF’s local investment strategy. The article discusses how outcomes-based approaches can support place-based impact objectives, with GMPF having committed £15m to SOPs since 2014.

    In a blog for Pathway Fund, Bonnie Chiu, Managing Director of The Social Investment Consultancy, reflects on progress since the launch of the Racial Equity Scorecard and the challenges of embedding racial equity considerations within investment decision making. The article focuses on the role of foundation endowments and investment portfolios in advancing racial equity and justice objectives.

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    Education

    General

    Schools Week reports that the Department for Education has confirmed ministerial portfolios following the recent reshuffle. New responsibilities include tackling antisemitism, oversight of special schools and the creation of new free schools.  Support for young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) has been established as a standalone responsibility within the Skills Minister’s portfolio.

    Further education

    The National Governance Association (NGA) has published its analysis of the 2026 A-Level, T-Level and vocational Level 3 results. The proportion of A and A* grades increased slightly from 28.2% in 2025 to 28.7% in 2026, with A* grades increasing by 3.2%. The NGA also reported widening regional differences in attainment, with 32.7% of students in London achieving top grades compared with 23.1% in the North East and East Midlands. In addition, boys achieved 29.1% of top grades compared with 28.3% for girls, and Economics rose from the tenth to the fifth most popular A-Level subject, with 43,121 entries.

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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 last week 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.