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
- Charity law cases
- Sector general
- Safeguarding
- Philanthropy
- Fundraising
- Public procurement and subsidy control
- Northern Ireland
- Health and social care
- Social enterprise
- Social investment / social impact investment
- Education
Charity Commission
The Charity Commission has published its 2025-2026 report on whistleblowing disclosures. The Commission has seen an increase in whistleblowing disclosures. It has also found that the majority of disclosures are from employees and ex-employees and that the primary issues raised remain financial management, governance, or safeguarding concerns.
Investigations and complaints
The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into Cumbria Community Homes due to regulatory concerns, including the absence of a functioning trustee board and late filing of financial information. The Commission has also restricted the charity’s transactions and prevented it from disposing of property without the regulator’s consent.
Charity law cases
The High Court has ruled that amendments to the Yogi Divine Society (UK) constitution were invalid due to improper notice and misleading representations and restored the position under the charity’s 2013 constitution.
The First-tier Tribunal has allowed Naomi Campbell’s appeal against the Charity Commission’s decision to disqualify her as a charity trustee and quashed the disqualification order. The Tribunal found that the most serious misconduct had been concealed from Campbell and that her remaining failures did not establish that she was unfit to act as a trustee.
Sector general
The £60m Pathways to Work Innovation Fund has opened for applications. Organisations across the UK can now bid for funding “to test bold new ways of supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to enter, stay and progress in work”. The closing date is 26 October 2026.
A new Ministry of Justice publication outlines how the department intends to deliver a package of support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs). The aim is to increase opportunities for SMEs and VCSEs to work more with the government. The plan sets out procurement spend targets and initiatives to raise SME and VCSE participation up until March 2028. It also talks about the Procurement Act 2023, confirming that direct spend with SMEs will be monitored and published annually as a percentage of total procurement spend.
In an open letter to the Prime Minister, civil society organisations across a variety of sectors have urged Burnham to see the civil society as a critical friend and to involve it more closely in policy development and delivery.
Services for Education has published research based on responses from 72 charities which found that financial sustainability was the main pressure facing charity leaders. The report warns that charities may undermine their long-term effectiveness if financial decisions are not considered alongside organisational culture, mission and beneficiary outcomes.
Safeguarding
A new statutory safeguarding information sharing duty came into force on 30 September 2026. Jean Tsang and Rayhaan Vankalwala have written an article looking at when information must be shared, what the changes mean for consent, data protection and safeguarding practice, and the practical steps providers should take now.
Philanthropy
Jamie Broderick has been appointed as the new Chair of Philanthropy Impact. Broderick is also the Deputy Chair of the Impact Investing Institute, among other roles in the social impact investment sector, and was previously Head of UBS Wealth Management in the UK. Commenting on his appointment, Broderick has noted that the public’s “awareness of the potential of philanthropy and the wider impact economy has never been higher, and there is growing recognition that private capital, alongside government and civil society, has an important role to play in tackling some of our most pressing social and environmental challenges.”
Fundraising
A YouGov poll has looked at “How people give to charity in the UK: Donations, demographics and giving intentions”.
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising has launched three updated rule books for public fundraising to reflect the latest regulatory requirements including the Fundraising Regulator’s new Code of Fundraising Practice.
Public procurement and subsidy control
See above under Sector general.
Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office is preparing to launch the third round of its Connect Fund grant programme. The Connect Fund strengthens collaboration between community and voluntary groups across the east and west of the UK, and has so far awarded over £1m to 46 projects across Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Health and social care
This week the government has announced its first partnership to help deliver its Renewed Women’s Health Strategy – the Department of Health and Social Care will partner with Breast Cancer Now for the next three years, giving women practical information to build confidence in checking their breasts, recognising changes, and seeking advice sooner.
The Department of Health and Social Care has published a collection of guidance on digitising adult social care, including choice of software, devices and use of AI.
Social enterprise
The government has announced a new £10 million Co-operative Development Programme, part of a wider programme of funding to help restore derelict high street buildings and bring people back to town centres, furthering the government’s aims for place-based regeneration. The announcement states that the programme will “help mayors and strategic authorities set up more co-operative businesses, owned and run by the staff, customers and communities who use them”. For more, Co-operatives UK welcomed the announcement.
The School for Social Entrepreneurs has launched an accelerator programme alongside the Deposit Protection Service, aimed at tackling homelessness. The ‘DPS Social Commitment Programme’ aims to fund and train 200 VCSE leaders across England and Wales to tackle housing insecurity in their own communities. Participants will receive grants of up to £10,000, as well as training and mentoring, to design and deliver solutions based on local community knowledge.
Social investment / social impact investment
See above under Philanthropy.
A new £20 million social impact investment fund has been launched by Christian Aid to support locally-owned businesses helping communities cope with climate change. Owned by a special purpose subsidiary investment vehicle, the ‘Christian Aid Resilient Futures Fund’ will invest through impact fund managers and a smaller direct-lending portfolio, in enterprises in areas such as “climate-smart farming”, renewable energy, clean water and local food systems, as well as providing technical assistance where needed.
The Oversight Trust, which provides independent oversight of Better Society Capital, Access – the Foundation for Social Investment, Fair4All Finance and Youth Futures Foundation, has published its latest annual report. These four entities receive funding from the Dormant Assets Scheme, and the Oversight Trust aims to ensure that they are “well governed, remain aligned with their missions and are using this funding to address some of the UK’s most pressing social challenges”.
Having hosted the ‘Business of Impact’ conference in Lisbon last month, Impact Europe published an article that describes the discussions that took place, around the themes of Unblocking Collaboration, the Just Energy Transition and Impact Infrastructure, as well as some of the commitments made by delegates.
Education
General
Ofsted has confirmed that routine inspections of National Professional Qualification providers will remain paused for the rest of the 2026/27 academic year and that the pause will also apply to Early Career Teacher Programme providers. The pause will enable Ofsted to develop a revised inspection framework, including a new inspection toolkit, operating guide and report card. Routine inspections are due to resume in the 2027/28 academic year.
Schools
On 2 October 2026, the Department for Education (DfE) updated its resources for designated safeguarding leads and others with safeguarding responsibilities in education settings on safeguarding learners who may be susceptible to radicalisation. This now includes practical guidance on weaponry or explosives fixation and antisemitism in its section on concerning behaviours, and the updates to reflect changes to the Prevent duty guidance for England, Scotland and Wales.
On 30 September 2026, the DfE published updated non-statutory guidance on when the Secretary of State’s consent or notification is required for transactions involving school land. The revised guidance includes a number of updates and clarifications that schools, academy trusts, local authorities and trustees should consider when planning land transactions.
The Independent Schools Council (ISC) reports that The Telegraph has suggested that a future move to rejoin the EU could affect the Government’s policy of applying VAT to independent school fees. It also reports that The Telegraph cited figures indicating that more than 115 independent schools have closed since the policy was introduced.
The Guardian has reported on the scale of child-on-child sexual abuse recorded in schools in England and Wales. Based on an analysis of police data from 2021 to 2025, the article states that close to five sexual offences a day against children aged 12 and under were recorded by police in primary and secondary schools across England and Wales. The report has prompted renewed discussion among lawyers and campaigners about safeguarding arrangements and the prevalence of child-on-child sexual abuse in educational settings.
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.