Correspondence

Charity Commission News: Issue 70

Published 17 February 2023

Applies to England and Wales

My Charity Commission Account

Last year we let you know that we are introducing a new, improved sign-in process for charities and their trustees to access our online services. This new way of signing in will be through individual Charity Commission Accounts.

We’ve started inviting charities to set up their accounts ahead of a launch later this year.

What you need to do now to get ready

• please check your charity details are up to date, including who your charity contact is so we reach the right person. You can check this by logging in to our online services
• if you are the charity contact, please make sure we have an email address for you that only you access
• make sure that your date of birth is correct and matches the one we currently have on record. We’ll use your date of birth to verify who you are
• look out for Charity Commission emails (check your junk/spam folders, just in case) and set up your account when you receive your link

To find out more, read our guidance on My Charity Commission Account

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/setting-up-my-charity-commission-account

Annual Return for 2023

The Charity Commission has published an updated set of questions that many charities will need to complete as part of their 2023 Annual Return.

We are doing this by asking charities more questions to build a more detailed picture of the risks to individual charities and the overall sector.

A number of changes and improvements have been made as a result of feedback received from charities and interested parties during a consultation which ended in September 2022. This will not change the questions asked for the 2022 Annual Return.

Find out what questions you might be asked.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/charity-commission-revisions-to-the-annual-return-2023-25/outcome/annex-11-charity-annual-return-questions-2023-data-publication

Support for Trustees

Whether you’re a new or experienced trustee, our suite of 5-minute guides will help you be sure of your responsibilities and confident you’re doing the right thing for your charity. Here are some of the questions we can help you answer confidently:

• could you spot a conflict of interest and manage it?
• does every decision help your charity with its mission?
• is there more you can do to prevent fraud?
• could you be drifting into activities that your charity is not set up to do?
• how is your charity keeping everyone safe from harm?
• is your charity reporting the right things at the right time?

https://beingacharitytrustee.campaign.gov.uk/

Have your say on our consultation on charities’ use of social media

The Charity Commission is consulting with charities, sector organisations and the public to develop new guidance for charities when they use social media.

We are seeking views on draft guidance, which is intended to:

• help trustees use social media appropriately and with confidence
• understand their responsibilities and manage the risks
• encourage them to adopt a social media policy
• help trustees understand what to do if issues occur, for example if problematic content is posted either by the charity or by someone connected to the charity

Have your say.

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-guidance-charities-use-of-social-media

Protect your charity from the risk of cyber-crime

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has released a new report detailing the risks from cyber-crime to charities. The vast majority of fraud is now committed online.

To help you protect your charity, the NCSC has a range of tools, including an e-learning training package: ‘Stay Safe Online: top tips for staff’. It’s free, easy to use and takes less than 30 minutes to complete.

The training explains why cyber security is important and how attacks happen. It then covers 4 key areas:

• defending yourself against phishing
• using strong passwords
• securing your devices
• reporting incidents

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/charity/cyber-threat-report-uk-charity-sector

Tax avoidance: don’t get caught out

HMRC wants to help charities that use contractors to understand their pay arrangements to ensure they don’t get any unexpected tax bills.

HMRC’s ‘Tax avoidance – don’t get caught out’ campaign helps contractors check what they’re being paid, whether their contract could involve tax avoidance, and how to spot the warning signs.

HMRC is working with a range of organisations to give them the tools to educate the contractors who work for them on the risks of using tax avoidance schemes.

https://taxavoidanceexplained.campaign.gov.uk/?&utm_source=eng_doc&utm_medium=external&utm_campaign=upstream_