The UK Charity Commission's new strategy

At the end of February, the Charity Commission launched its new five-year strategy for 2024-2029. This sets out the Commission's core purpose and strategic priorities.  

In announcing the new strategy, the Commission Chair, Orlando Fraser KC,  said that the Board wanted to "send a strong signal of our continuing ambition to be an expert regulator that is fair, balanced and independent." He added that: "This strategy embeds this commitment in a concrete fashion into the Commission’s future processes and procedures."

In the introduction to its new strategy, the Commission includes some statistics about the sector which help to put the strategy in context.  There are 169,255 charities on the Register of Charities, nearly half of which have an income below £10,000 per year.  The majority of the charities being regulated by the Charity Commission are very small.

In the new strategy, the Commission focuses on three values:

Being Fair – the Commission aims to ensure there is consistency, acts free from bias, adopts process and guidance that are clear, rigorous and meet professional standards

Being Balanced – the Commission will support trustees to run their charities well whilst understanding that the best laid plans can go awry.  It will help charities to correct mistakes when they happen, but will investigate concerns and deal robustly with intentional wrongdoers

Being Independent – the Commission will act impartially, take evidence-based decisions, listen to all concerns with respect, and act without fear or favour from any other entity – whether that's the Government, the sector or the public

The new strategy sets out five priorities which we consider below.

1.    To be fair and proportionate in its work, and clear about its role

Interestingly, the Commission notes that "sometimes our actions and decisions will be unpopular, but we will take extra care to explain why our processes led us to those outcomes – taking every opportunity to provide helpful lessons for the wider sector."

The Commission notes that it will "increase early identification of potential compliance concerns and improve [it] then open[s] dialogue with charities to take preventative measures."   This is clearly a much more proactive approach than in the past.

2.    To support charities to get it right, while taking robust action where it sees wrongdoing and harm

The Strategy refers to placing "equal emphasis" on providing support to trustees and being a "tough enforcer".  Reassuringly, it recognises that the sustainability of the sector relies on the "enthusiasm, generosity and capability of trustees" and notes that it will seek to work collaboratively with trustees where appropriate, recognising the efforts of busy trustees and that honest mistakes do occur.

The Commission says that it intends to work with charities to encourage trusteeship – something to be welcomed given the number of charities struggling to recruit new trustees.

3.    To speak with authority and credibility, free from the influence of others

The Strategy notes that the Commission will "speak out when charities fall short but support charities to further their purposes within the law, even where some disagree with their views."  This is welcome as the Strategy acknowledges that the Commission can be dealing with "divisive and contentious issues not least because of the centrality of charity to society." We have seen charities more recently become embroiled in the so-called 'Culture Wars' and having a regulator who recognises that charities do need to become involved in divisive and contentious issues (rather than 'sticking to their knitting') can only be a good thing.

We welcome the Commission's commitment to its independence from Government, as well as its commitment to following the law.

4.    To embrace technological innovation and strengthen its use of data

The Commission intends to improve its digital services to make this "a straightforward experience" for routine filings, such as Annual Returns.  We have seen a number of challenges with the introduction of the My Charity Commission Account and so can hope that the Commission also receives sufficient budget to fund further improvements to its digital services.

The Strategy also seeks to evolve the Register of Charities to ensure that it contains more accurate and useful data for the public promoting transparency.

5.    To be an expert Commission where its people are empowered and enabled to deliver excellence in regulation

The final part of the Commission's Strategy focuses on its position as an employer – looking at updating career structures, promoting ongoing training and creating an inclusive culture.  We can hope that these changes help to retain the talent which the Commission already has, as well as ensuring that its staff receive high-quality training to help deal with any issues effectively.

More details on the strategy is available here. If you have any other questions, please get in touch with the team.