Charities Act 2022: information about the changes being introduced
Information on the changes being introduced by the Charities Act 2022.
Applies to England and Wales
This page is about changes being introduced by the Charities Act 2022 (the Act), which amends the Charities Act 2011.
This page provides short summaries of the changes that came into effect on 14 June 2023 and and 31 October 2022 and links to our updated guidance for the changes.
The final set of changes are due to come into effect in early 2024.
An overview of the full changes can be found on this page: Charities Act 2022: implementation plan.
Changes that came into force on 14 June 2023
Selling, leasing or otherwise disposing of charity land
Charities must comply with certain legal requirements before they dispose of charity land. Disposal can include selling, transferring or leasing charity land. The Act simplifies some of these legal requirements. The changes include:
- widening the category of designated advisers who can provide charities with advice on certain disposals
- confirming that a trustee, officer or employee can provide advice on a disposal if they meet the relevant requirements
- giving trustees discretion to decide how to advertise a proposed disposal of charity land
- removing the requirement for charities to get Commission authority to grant a residential lease to a charity employee for a short periodic or fixed term tenancy
The following provisions are expected to come into force in early 2024:
- the provisions relating to disposals by liquidators, provisional liquidators, receivers, mortgagees or administrators
- the provisions relating to the taking out of mortgages by liquidators, provisional liquidators, receivers, mortgagees or administrators
- changes about what must be included in statements and certificates for both disposals and mortgages
Read our guidance:
Selling, leasing or otherwise disposing of charity land in England and Wales
Using permanent endowment
Put simply, permanent endowment is property that your charity must keep rather than spend.
The Act introduces new statutory powers to enable:
- charities to spend, in certain circumstances, from a ‘smaller value’ permanent endowment fund of £25,000 or less without Commission authority
- certain charities to borrow up to 25% of the value of their permanent endowment fund without Commission authority
Charities that cannot use the statutory powers will require Charity Commission authority.
A new statutory power enables charities that have opted into a total return approach to investment to use permanent endowment to make social investments with a negative or uncertain financial return, provided any losses are offset by other gains.
Read our guidance:
Permanent endowment: rules for charities
Total return investment for permanently endowed charities
Charity names
The Commission can currently direct a charity to change its name if it is too similar to another charity’s name or is offensive or misleading.
The Act enables the Commission to:
- direct a charity to stop using a working name if it is too similar to another charity’s name or is offensive or misleading. A working name is any name used to identify a charity and under which the activities of the charity are carried out. For example, ‘Comic Relief’ is the working name of the charity ‘Charity Projects’
- delay registration of a charity with an unsuitable name or delay entry of a new unsuitable name onto the Register of Charities
- use its powers in relation to exempt charities in consultation with the principal regulator
Read our guidance:
Other provisions
The definition of a connected person has been updated to remove outdated language.
Changes that came into force on 31 October 2022
Paying trustees for providing services or goods to the charity
Charities now have a statutory power to pay trustees for providing goods alone to the charity in certain circumstances.
Using the new statutory power, trustees can be paid for:
- services only, for example estate agency or computer consultancy
- services and associated goods, for example plumbing or painting service and any associated materials such as plumbing parts or paint
- goods only, for example supplying stationery to the charity
Read our guidance:
Fundraising appeals that do not raise enough or raise too much
There are now simpler requirements for trustees to follow if an appeal does not raise the amount needed to deliver its aim, raises too much or circumstances change and the donations cannot be used as intended.
Read our guidance:
You can read a blog produced by the Fundraising Regulator about these changes.
Power to amend Royal Charters
These charities have a new statutory power to change sections in their Royal Charter with approval from the Privy Council.
Read our guidance:
In addition, the following changes are now in effect:
- the Charity Tribunal has the power to make “authorised costs orders” following an application by a charity. Read our guidance about decision reviews and the Charity Tribunal
- the Commission’s scheme-making powers include making schemes for charitable companies
- trust corporation status is automatically conferred on existing and future corporate charities in respect of any charitable trust of which the corporation is (or, in the future, becomes) a trustee
- updated provisions relating to giving public notice to written consents and orders of the Charity Commission under various sections of the Charities Act 2011
- when a charity amends its governing document by parliamentary scheme under section 73 of the Charities Act 2011, the scheme will by default always be under a lighter touch parliamentary process (known as the negative parliamentary procedure)
Last updated 14 June 2023 + show all updates
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Updated as a result of Charities Act 2022 phase 2 provisions that came into effect on 14 June 2023.
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Updated information about the implementation of phase 2 of the Charities Act 2022.
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Updated with information on further changes due to be introduced in Spring 2023.
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Updated as a result of Charities Act 2022 provisions that have come into effect on 31 October 2022.
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Timetable change
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First published.