Charity Commission annual meeting

Partner Chris Priestley attended the Charity Commission's annual public meeting in London at the end of November and shares his feedback.

The Charity Commission's annual meeting which is open to the public gives the regulator an opportunity to talk about its work.  Commission staff are also on hand to provide guidance information throughout the day and in the formal part of the meeting there is an opportunity for the audience (either online or in person) to ask questions of the senior leadership team.

The meeting opened with an address by Orlando Fraser for whom this will be his last annual meeting as chair of the Charity Commission.  Mr Fraser retires as Chair of the regulator at the end of April next year.  

The Chair's address was wide-ranging.  In summary:

•    During his time as Chair Orlando was determined to lead an expert Charity Commission led by the law and to ensure that the Commission is fair, balanced and independent.  

•    Whilst the Commission has strong powers its greatest impact and its ability to regulate most efficiently is where it regulates by consent.

•    The number of statutory inquiries initiated by the Charity Commission had increased substantially from 49 in 2021/22 to 72 in 2022/23 and 89 in 2023/24 and since April this year the Commission has already opened 40 enquiries.

The Charity Commission's new chief executive, David Holdsworth also spoke at the meeting, talking about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and how the Commission can respond.   In summary:

•    The current operating environment is not easy for charities.  There are pressures on financial resilience in the sector. The pandemic and the cost of living crisis has left many charities with depleted resources and many charities continue to face the triple whammy of simultaneous pressures on demand, costs and income leading to acute and in some cases chronic battles for survival and sustainability.

•    While many charities' financial resilience is wearing thin, overall the sector is proving to be responsive and resilient.

•    Charities like other organisations are also having to contend with rapid technological and social change.

•    The tools charities use in working and attitudes and expectations that influence charities' work are changing at a pace that seems likely only to increase.  Some tech innovations, notably in the space of AI, offer tools that can help charities do more with less and increase their impact.

•    The Commission has noted the worrying downward trend in volunteering.  

•    The complexity of the Commission's compliance case load is increasing, often involving intractable or generational disputes along lines of allegiance that mirror debates that the media might brand as belonging to wider culture wars.

•    The Commission received over 9,000 applications to register a charity, a record high in the past year around half of which were added to the register of charities.  The Commission also concluded over 3,700 regulatory concern cases.

•    The Commission is focusing on making its guidance to trustees easier to access, read and act upon and is raising awareness of it through innovative campaigns.