£5m interim funding boost for Charity Commission as it considers charges for larger charities
Melanie May | 23 January 2018 | News
The Government has awarded the Charity Commission an extra £5m funding a year to help it respond to significant increases in demand on its core regulatory functions, including registration and compliance.
The funding boost is an interim solution however, while the Charity Commission considers other funding models, such as the mooted charges for larger charities on which the Commission has said it expects to launch a formal consultation later in the year.
The consultation is expected to ask for views on:
- The practicalities and implications of a system for charging the largest charities: The details are under consideration by the Commission, but it expects to consult on proposals that would see it receiving around £7.5million a year through contributions from the 2,000 largest charities on the register, namely those with annual incomes of over £5million.
- The enabling work charities and trustees would like to see the Commission expanding or developing: The Commission will be keen to hear from charities of all sizes and types about their current and future needs for support and enabling work from the Commission. This element of the consultation is likely to focus in particular on smaller charities. Recent research revealed that 80% of trustees are responsible for charities that do not have paid staff; they consequently look to the Commission for authoritative advice and guidance on managing their charities effectively and efficiently.
William Shawcross, Chairman of the Charity Commission, said:
“I am pleased that the additional transitional funding from Government acknowledges the unprecedented rise in demand on the Commission’s services in recent years. The new money will help us continue to increase the effectiveness of our core regulatory functions in the short term, as we explore longer term solutions.
“It is right that we consider whether those in the sector with the broadest shoulders should make a contribution towards aspects of our work, and I am pleased that we will shortly be publishing a consultation on whether and how we do this. We would plan to use these funds to increase and improve the services and support we offer and want to encourage charities to step forward and feed in their thoughts.”Advertisement
Sir John Low, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, welcomed the funding announcement too.
He said: “It is clear the Charity Commission needs funding to carry out its important work. We recognise this, but were concerned by recent suggestions that the Government might seek to siphon off donations given to specific causes and charities, whether large or small, to pay for regulation; we would consider that a retrograde step. That is why we recently laid out a range of practical alternatives – including modest increases in Government support – which would raise much needed funds and help the Commission achieve its objectives.
“As always, we are committed to working with the Commission to help them secure the future of the whole charity sector and build the public trust which underpins so much work for the greater good.”
2/ The money – equivalent to over 20% of the Charity Commission’s operating budget, I reckon – is to help it deal with its core regulatory activity. Not to do new work.
— Karl Wilding @Ka*********@ms***.social (@karlwilding) January 22, 2018
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.