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
- Investigations and complaints
- Tax and VAT
- Equity, equality, diversity and inclusion
- Fundraising
- Legacies
- Data and privacy
- AI
- Health and social care
- Social enterprise
- Social investment / social impact investment
- International development
- Education
Charity Commission
Updated CC28 Guidance
The Charity Commission says it has updated its guidance Sales, leases, transfers or mortgages: what trustees need to know about disposing of charity land (CC28) to reflect the changes to leases which have come in from the Renters’ Rights Act that came into force on 1 May. The Commission has removed guidance about short leases.
Investigations and complaints
The Charity Commission has opened inquiries into The Shoosmith Gallery and Steiner Friends. The Commission identified concerns about these two charities during an ongoing inquiry into another charity, William Blake House Northants.
Tax and VAT
See below under Legacies.
Equity, equality, diversity and inclusion
An update from Bates Wells Senior Associate and Knowledge Lawyer Thérèse Rankin explains that the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s updated draft of its Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations is expected to be laid before Parliament shortly (if approved by the Minister for Women and Equalities), before coming into force (if no objections are made), on a date to be confirmed. The earliest this could now take place is towards the end of June.
Fundraising
Fundraising complaints
A blog from the Fundraising Regulator (FR) includes updates from its fundraising complaints research partnership with BMG Research Limited. From mid-May, around 500 large fundraising charities will be contacted about taking part.
Legacies
There are to be changes to the inheritance tax regime from April 2027 which will bring pensions within the scope of inheritance tax. The changes are predicted to bring many more estates within the inheritance net – which means that there’s a real opportunity for legacy fundraisers to remind their supporters of the significant inheritance tax advantages of leaving a gift to charity on their death. Not only are the gifts exempt from inheritance tax, but where someone leaves more than 10% of their net estate to charity the usual 40% tax rate can be reduced to 36% which represents a considerable incentive to charitable giving.
HMRC has just published this technical briefing which confirms that from April 2027 unused pension funds and notional death benefits will be added to the property passing under the terms of the testator’s Will when working out whether their gifts to charity meet the 10% threshold. Bates Wells senior counsel Alice Faure Walker explains “This means that there is even more of an incentive for charity supporters to urgently review their Wills to make sure that they still reflect their intentions before the rules change next year. While the changes will make tax planning and estate administration more complicated, they do provide a platform for highlighting the tax advantages of charitable giving.”
Data and privacy
Our Bates Wells Data & Privacy team is launching a data protection health check service, with bespoke packages available depending on your data needs.
See ‘AI’ below.
AI
A blog from the Information Commissioner’s Office Ian Hulme sets out steps to protect your organisation from AI-powered cyber threats. This includes being aware of threats like AI-enhanced phishing and automated scanning for cyber vulnerabilities, having an incident response plan, and training staff to be aware of the threats.
Health and social care
The government has launched a call for evidence to shape its “once-in-a-generation cross-government mental health strategy”.
Social enterprise
Co‑operatives UK has published comments from its Policy and Development Lead, James Wright, welcoming new legislation introducing a ‘Community Right to Buy’ as a “landmark moment for community ownership”, stating it “will significantly increase opportunities for communities to organise, raise finance and acquire the assets that matter to them”. The measure, introduced through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act (which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026), gives communities in England the first opportunity to purchase assets of local value when they are put up for sale.
Social Enterprise UK has published a blog reporting on comments from social enterprise leaders shared at a meeting with government on the role of the sector in the UK labour market with economic growth remaining a key priority for the government. The article sets out views on how social enterprises support employment for disadvantaged groups and deliver wider benefits including workforce stability and wellbeing. The evidence is intended to inform recommendations in a final report to be published later this year.
Social Enterprise UK has published a summary report from the 2026 Social Value Leaders’ Summit, which brought together cross‑sector leaders to discuss how to embed social value in procurement following the Procurement Act 2023 (the Act) coming into effect in February 2025 (landing page). The report outlines opportunities linked to the Act and wider policy direction as well as challenges raised by participants, including low VCSE participation in public contracts and barriers within commissioning processes.
Responsible Finance has published a blog speaking to the pivotal role of microlending as an entry point to entrepreneurship in the UK. The article highlights barriers faced by prospective entrepreneurs, including lack of savings, limited credit history and time out of the labour market. It also sets out how community development finance institutions aim to address these through small loans to those unable to access mainstream finance.
Social Economy Europe has published a short commentary on the European Commission’s first EU Anti‑Poverty Strategy, setting out the role of the social economy in addressing poverty and social exclusion. The article outlines how social economy organisations already contribute through activities such as affordable housing, inclusive employment and community‑based services, and raises questions about whether future EU funding frameworks will provide sufficient, targeted support to enable this to continue.
Social investment / social impact investment
Last month the Department for Culture, Media and Sport opened applications to appoint a delivery partner for Round 1 of the £500m Better Futures Fund. The fund aims to support children, young people and families through place‑based Social Outcomes Partnerships. Funding will be linked to measurable improvements such as educational attainment, youth employment and reduced youth reoffending. Detailed guidance and application materials are available on the GOV.UK. Applications close on 12 June 2026.
Access – The Foundation for Social Investment has published a blog inviting organisations to take part in a new pilot consultation on market‑development proposals seeking to develop the wider social investment sector under its Dormant Assets programme. The pilot aims to gather structured feedback from across the sector to test demand, value and support for proposals with feedback used to inform funding decisions. The pilot will run until the end of September 2026.
Better Society Capital has reported on findings from an independent evaluation report of the Everyone In Social Investment Pilot, following “three years of research into whether social investment can effectively channel private capital to increase the supply of housing for people experiencing homelessness” (landing page, executive summary). The evaluation reports on how the pilot used blended public and private funding to enable homelessness organisations to acquire and manage housing, and sets out evidence on delivery, costs, and learning from this approach.
Sorenson Impact Institute has published its 2026 Impact Investing Trends report, drawing on perspectives from 18 practitioners and leaders across the impact investing sector (landing page). The report captures contributors’ views on the state of impact investing in 2026 and covers issues such as reduced public funding, changing expectations around risk and returns. The report also notes where impact investors see current challenges and opportunities, such as climate and nature-based solutions, technology, affordable housing and job creation and financial inclusion.
International development
With the Global Partnerships Conference being held from 19-20 May, Bond has shared ‘Beyond aid: a Global Majority manifesto for the 2026 Global Partnerships Conference’.
Education
General
The King’s Speech announced a bill to raise standards in schools and introduce generational reforms of the educational needs system. This bill follows the publication of the white paper “Every child achieving and thriving” and the consultation on SEND reform, which closed on 18 May.
Schools
Education Policy Institute has analysed data on London Secondary schools’ use of internal exclusion. The analysis indicates that use of internal exclusion varies significantly across school, and that there is strong positive correlation between the use of internal exclusion and suspension.
Further Education
Ofsted will not inspect recently introduced apprenticeship units until 2027. This gives providers and employers time to develop and embed effective delivery models, and the Department for Work and Pensions and Ofsted time to consider the appropriate quality framework.
National Foundation for Educational Research has published a report on ‘Competition and Cooperation in the FE sector’, which looked in how the two factors affect subject availability, equity and delivery efficiency in the FE sector. Findings suggest that highly fragmented local provider markets weaken subject choice, dilute economies of scale, and exacerbate geographic inequalities in subject access.
The government has announced the first 130 universities and colleges approved to offer new, shorter, modular courses as part of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement programme. People will be able to apply for student financing from September for these courses, which aim to provide flexibility to study to be able to upskill to benefit current jobs, or change careers, while juggling commitments such as work and childcare.
Higher Education
The Office for Students (OfS) has published its annual financial sustainability report, which has shown a small improvement in financial performance. However, OfS has noted that institutions remain under pressure.
Cranfield University, a specialist postgraduate university, and King’s College London have announced plans to merge later this year. The two institutions hope that the merger will create a university equipped for the changing world, building on each institution’s individual strengths.
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.