Charities Act 2011

A new Charities Act that consolidates existing charity law received royal assent on 14 December 2011 and will come into force on 13 March 2012. The Act updates the text and simplifies the structure of the existing legislation, but it does not change the existing law or introduce new policy.

The Charities Act 2011 combines:-

• the Recreational Charities Act 1958,
• the Charities Act 1993 and
• many of the provisions of the Charities Act 2006.

However, it does not include the provisions of either the Charities Act 1992 or the Charities Act 2006, which deal with public charitable donations.

Further changes are expected in the future, as the conservative peer Lord Hodgson was appointed in November 2011 to review the Charities Act 2006. The review will look at a number of areas, including the definition of a charity and the role of the Charity Commission. The review is expected to be completed by summer 2012 and will inevitably give rise to legislative changes in the future.