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.
- Charity Commission
- Governance
- Sector general
- Volunteering
- Funders and funding
- Fundraising
- AI
- Regulation, companies, and community interest companies
- Health and social care
- Cyber resilience
- Social enterprise
- Social investment / social impact investment
- Animal welfare
- Education
Charity Commission
Annual report and accounts
The Charity Commission has published its annual report and accounts for 2025 to 2026. In his foreword, Chief Executive Officer David Holdsworth said the Commission had seen an increase in applications, regulatory activities, and caseloads. He noted these increases meant they had to “adapt often meaning our timeliness and response rates has not been where we want them to be despite improvements to productivity achieved.”
Research on public trust and trustees
The Commission has also published ‘Public trust in charities 2026’ (along with a blog) and ‘Research with trustees: 2026’ (both prepared by BMG Research). It found that trust in charities remains high, with money reaching the end cause remaining the most important driver of trust. It also found a quarter of charities have experienced the impacts of a challenging social environment, including changes in support, changing or stopping some activities, vandalism, spread of misinformation, threats and protests. The Commission noted in a blog that charities “promoting causes such as human rights, or religious and racial harmony are most likely to say they have been impacted”.
Board update
Mark Simms OBE has announced he is stepping down from the Board of the Charity Commission this Autumn. Simms has served on the Board for three and a half years, including a period as Interim Chair.
Governance
The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland (CGIUKI) has published research highlighting the governance risks arising from legal uncertainty around extended leave (e.g. parental leave, long-term illness, bereavement or caring responsibilities) for trustees, directors, and company secretaries. CGIUKI notes that charities may be “particularly exposed” to this issue. For further analysis of this topic for trustees, see an article from Philip Kirkpatrick published by the Association of Chairs.
Sector general
Our latest ‘people and workplace round-up’ from Paul Seath covers topics ranging from a case considering protected beliefs to upcoming reforms to the unfair dismissal regime.
Volunteering
In Rosterfy’s State of UK Volunteer Management 2026, 46% of respondents said they are finding recruitment of volunteers “easy” and 49% noted that their volunteer numbers have increased.
Funders and funding
New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) and Macmillan Cancer Support have published ‘What is a reasonable evaluation ask?’, a report examining how monitoring, evaluation and learning requirements are experienced by grantees and communities. Drawing on the evaluation of Macmillan’s Cancer Champions programme, the report sets out five lessons aimed at helping grant-makers develop “more proportionate, context-sensitive and relationship-centred” evaluation approaches. It includes a checklist based on learnings from the project.
The Bromley Trust and NPC have co-written a blog about how charities working in human rights and prison reform are experiencing the current landscape and what they most need from funders to support their work.
Fundraising
Ten years on from the establishment of the Fundraising Regulator, a blog from its Chair, Lord Toby Harris, reflects on how regulation and the fundraising sector has evolved in that time, with charities now operating in a “more complex environment”.
AI
The ninth edition of the Charity Digital Skills Report found that 79% of nonprofits and social sector organisations surveyed are now using AI. Interestingly, 35% reported a lack of trust in AI tools (up from 15% last year).
Regulation, companies, and community interest companies
HM Treasury and the Department for Business & Trade have shared a policy paper about a planned overhaul of the approach to regulators and regulation in the UK. This will include a focus on innovation and growth, regulating proportionately and transparently, and reducing bureaucracy. It highlights that the Regulator of Community Interest Companies will merge with Companies House “when parliamentary time allows”. In addition, The Regulatory Innovation Office has been established to focus on innovation and commercialising technologies. Its work will include developing a roadmap with the Department for Health and Social Care around using AI in the NHS.
Health and social care
See ‘Regulation, companies, and community interest companies’ above and ‘Education, schools’ below.
Cyber resilience
After an announcement we reported on back in April, the government has formally launched its Cyber Resilience Pledge. This is a voluntary pledge which asks organisations to take actions to improve their cyber security.
Social enterprise
Allia Impact and Beauhurst Insights have published The Impact Business Tipping Point: A Data-Driven Census of the UK’s Mission-Led Business Landscape, aiming to quantify “Impact-First” and “Balanced” companies using data from Companies House and other sources. The report identifies more than 150,000 mission-led businesses (as defined within the research methodology) operating across the UK, generating around £37bn in annual turnover, supporting 1.12 million jobs, and with higher growth and survival rates compared to the wider UK business population. The report also identifies funding gaps affecting some mission-led businesses, particularly those operating in community-based services.
The Department for Business and Trade has published the 2026 Investing in Women Code Annual Report, which examines access to finance for women-led businesses and tracks investment activity by Code signatories. Among other findings, it notes that 54% of Community Development Finance Institutions’ (CDFIs) social enterprise loans (and 84% of the value of these loans) were to women-led social enterprises. In a blog, Responsible Finance, a Code Partner, highlighted the contribution of CDFIs to improving access to finance for women-led businesses.
Telos, part of the Social Enterprise UK group, has published The Hidden Impact in Corporate Supply Chains, a report on how multinational businesses are using purchasing to drive social change in Europe, including UK suppliers providing in Europe. The report is based on analysis of businesses within the Buy Social Europe programme, which supports multinational procurement with the social economy. The report identifies a current ‘baseline’ and highlights substantial potential for growth, with the intention of using this evidence to create a “repeatable market-building programme”.
Social investment / social impact investment
Save the Children has collaborated with Key Fund, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and others to launch the £500,000 Dream Big South Yorkshire Fund, a blended finance pilot supporting organisations working to tackle child poverty. Described as “the first dedicated ‘child-centred’ investment fund in the country”, the initiative will use Save the Children Global Ventures’ Child-Lens Investment Framework to inform funding decisions on loans, microloans, and grants towards organisations supporting “children and families in communities most impacted by poverty”.
Social Investment Business has announced that it has agreed in principle to act as fund manager for the Liverpool City Region Social Investment Pathfinder Fund, which is expected to launch later this year. Described as “creating a new model for social investment”, the place-based fund aims to mobilise £50m over seven years to improve access to finance and asset ownership for social enterprises and community organisations through a mix of early-stage blended finance, scale-up investment, and support for community ownership. The announcement notes discussions with the Office for the Impact Economy to establish the region as an “Impact City Region”.
Animal welfare
A white paper from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs sets out plans for legal reform to support a “thriving, modern veterinary sector”. This considers the market investigation from the Competition and Markets Authority into veterinary services for household pets (which we’ve covered in recent briefings) and a consultation on the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966. The proposed reforms cover four main areas – regulation of veterinary professionals, regulation of veterinary and animal healthcare businesses, structures and governance of the regulator, and consumer support. The plan is to bring forward new primary legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows, with secondary legislation to follow.
Education
General
The Ministry of Justice and Department for Education (DfE) have announced a new pilot scheme aimed at identifying and supporting children with a parent in prison, a group the government describes as often being “hidden” from public services. The scheme is launching this summer in targeted areas with high rates of parental imprisonment and is intended to improve access to health, education and social care support for children.
The Department for Work and Pensions and DfE have published a new report explaining how the government will monitor progress against its commitment to lift around 550,000 children out of poverty. The report establishes a 2024/25 baseline and sets out how progress under the government’s ten-year Child Poverty Strategy will be measured and reported, including by reference to relative low income after housing costs and deep material poverty.
The DfE has confirmed the establishment of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body, which will set minimum pay and conditions for directly employed support staff in state-funded schools in England, including maintained schools and academies. The body will also advise on training and career progression. It is due to be established in autumn 2026 and is expected initially to focus on the next pay award uplift and improvements to maternity pay, with the first changes expected to take effect from the 2027–28 financial year.
Schools
The DfE has announced a package of measures aimed at reducing the cost of the new school year for families, including the expansion of free breakfast clubs and new legal limits on the number of branded uniform items schools can require. From September, 1,400 more schools are expected to offer free breakfast clubs, with more than 2,700 clubs operating in total, and schools must comply with the new branded-item limits.
Ofsted has launched a consultation on proposed reforms to the inspection of local authority children’s services and children’s social care providers. The proposals include introducing a five-point grading scale and report cards, placing greater emphasis on children’s experiences and outcomes, and strengthening the focus on reducing the use of unregistered children’s homes. The consultation closes on 28 September 2026.
The DfE has launched a consultation on a proposed “local SEND inclusion formula”, which would allow local authorities to provide more upfront SEND funding to mainstream schools. The proposals are intended to support earlier intervention, strengthen inclusive mainstream practice and reduce administrative burdens associated with securing additional funding. The consultation relates to proposed arrangements for the 2027–28 financial year and closes on 18 September 2026.
The DfE is also consulting on proposed reforms to Education Otherwise Than at School (EOTAS) arrangements for children and young people with SEND. The consultation seeks views on future support, quality and oversight for EOTAS, alternative provision for children unable to attend school because of health needs, and the use of accredited online education providers. The consultation forms part of the government’s wider SEND reforms and closes on 18 September 2026.
Further education
The DfE has published the College Financial Handbook 2026, which takes effect from 1 August 2026. The handbook sets out the DfE’s financial governance, management and control requirements for further education and sixth-form college corporations, and bodies designated as being in the further education sector.
Higher education
The Office for Students (OfS) has published the results of the National Student Survey 2026, showing continued improvements in students’ perceptions of their higher education experience. Over 360,000 final-year students responded, representing 71.8% of eligible students. Satisfaction increased across all survey themes, including teaching quality and the student voice. The findings also highlight ongoing disparities in the experiences of disabled students, which the OfS says remains a key area for improvement.
The OfS has announced changes designed to reduce regulatory burden on further education colleges delivering higher education. The changes are intended to reduce duplication with DfE oversight by disapplying certain OfS initial and ongoing conditions of registration for eligible further education colleges, while maintaining requirements relating to quality, student protection and access and participation plans where applicable.
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.