Hodgson review of Charities Act calls for stronger self-regulation
Howard Lake | 17 July 2012 | News
Lord Hodgson has published his review of the Charities Act 2006 and set out a number of recommendations covering fundraising and charity management. His eight-month review of the legislation was presented yesterday to MPs, and featured 113 proposals in its 159 pages.
Fundraising regulation
* transferring face-to-face fundraising for direct debits to the local authority licensing regime
* a single self-regulatory body covering all elements fundraising should be established this year
* membership of the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) should be encouraged. It should be compulsory for charities with annual incomes of over £1 million.
* a standing committee should be created to establish a straightforward fundraising licensing regime.
Charity finance and management
Recommendations included:
* raising the income threshold for compulsory registration for charities from £5,000 to £25,000
* charities should complete a single form to register with the Charity Commission and HM Revenue & Customs, not two separate forms
Advertisement
Sector reaction
Alistair McLean, Chief Executive of the Fundraising Standards Board, welcomed the review, saying: “The past five years have shown that there is a real appetite for self-regulation of fundraising, both within the charity sector and amongst the public. We welcome these new recommendations, which set out a clear path for strengthening the scheme, ensuring the public can give to the good causes they care about with confidence.”
Self-regulation of fundraising, run by the FRSB, was first launched in February 2007. To date, more than 1,420 charities and suppliers are signed up to the FRSB, raising around half of all voluntary income raised in the UK.
Review documents
The Review and an accompanying document can be downloaded as PDFs from the Cabinet Office website.
- Trusted and Independent: Giving charity back to charities – Review of the Charities Act 2006 (pdf, 1.02mb)
- Public perceptions of charity – A report for the Charities Act 2006 review (pdf, 809kb)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.