Overview

This bill amends the Charities Act 1992, primarily focusing on enhancing the Charity Commission's powers to regulate fundraising and protect charities. It allows for greater flexibility in issuing and modifying warnings to charities and introduces reserve powers to control fundraising practices, potentially involving external regulators and increased fees.

Description

The bill makes several key changes:

• Clause 1: Grants the Charity Commission the power to vary or withdraw warnings issued to charities, offering more flexibility in enforcement.
• Clause 9 Removal: Clause 9 is removed, suggesting a change to the original scope of the bill in relation to an unspecified matter. More information is needed for a complete understanding.
• Clauses 10 & 11: Amends existing clauses to specify that the Charity Commission’s actions apply only when relating to the charity's management.
• Clause 11 Amendment: Modifies the criteria for determining if someone has a disqualifying conviction. More details regarding the nature of this criteria are needed to complete this overview.
• New Clause (Added after Clause 14): Introduces reserve powers allowing the government to regulate charity fundraising via regulations. This includes requiring charities to comply with a regulator's requirements, follow guidance, pay fees, and register with a regulator. The government can specify which bodies act as regulators, but these bodies cannot be publicly funded. The power to create new powers for the Charity Commission also includes the authority to apply existing powers from the Charities Act 2011.
• Clause 17: Removes subsection (6), likely altering an existing provision relating to an unspecified topic. More details are required for a complete understanding.

Government Spending

The bill's impact on government spending is unclear. While it allows for the potential imposition of fees on charities, the overall financial effect on government expenditure is not explicitly stated and would depend on the specifics of any resulting regulations.

Groups Affected

• Charities: May face increased regulatory burdens, including new fees and compliance requirements related to fundraising. The impact will depend on the specific regulations created under the reserve powers.
• Charity Commission: Gains expanded powers to regulate and oversee fundraising, potentially increasing its workload and responsibilities.
• Fundraising Regulators: New bodies may be designated as regulators for charity fundraising, gaining significant influence over the sector. The nature of these bodies is unclear in the provided text.
• Individuals Involved in Charity Management or Fundraising: May face stricter scrutiny and increased liability under the new regulations.

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