Charity Commission for England and Wales meaning

Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) If you are setting up a charity, one current option is the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). To prevent delays in assessing your application, the Charity Commission advises adopting its model constitution. Nevertheless, there are various alternative approaches to completing the document, and these should be weighed carefully before proceeding in line with current guidance and requirements...

In this issue: Trusts Court of Protection UK taxes for Private Client HMRC Manuals updates Insolvency—Private Client Charity and philanthropy Contentious trusts and estates Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland International Question of the week Daily and weekly news alerts LexTalk®Private Client: a Lexis®PSL community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q&A Useful information Trusts Companies House publishes guidance on removal of overseas entities from register Companies House has issued guidance setting out the process for taking an overseas entity off the Register of Overseas Entities. It applies where the entity no longer holds registered title to UK land or property acquired on or after 1 January 1999 in England and Wales, 8 December 2014 in Scotland, and 5 September 2022 in Northern Ireland. The guidance confirms the entity must have disposed of all UK property or land, and the transfer of ownership...

Brexit headlines Defra sets out scope of legislative alignment under UK-EU SPS Agreement The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has outlined the EU legislation it considers to sit within the scope of the proposed UK‑EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement. The statement confirms the government’s intention to seek legislative alignment with EU rules, including dynamic alignment, to lessen administrative burdens and reduce costs associated with agrifood trade. It indicates that, in most cases, alignment is anticipated to substitute for, rather than add to, current domestic requirements, despite the limited divergence since EU exit. Defra also signals that the referenced EU measures, together with related implementing and delegated acts, presently set the expected boundaries of the agreement’s scope, and that further updates and detailed guidance for businesses will be issued following the conclusion of negotiations...

In this issue: Probate Court of Protection UK taxes for Private Client HMRC Manuals tracker Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Budgets and Finance Bills Digital assets and cryptoassets Charity and philanthropy Contentious trusts and estates Art and heritage property, landed estates and farming families Pensions, insurance and tax efficient investments Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland International Question of the week Daily and weekly news alerts LexTalk®Private Client: a Lexis+® community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q&A Useful information Probate ICAEW launches consultation on 2026 probate registration fee increases The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has opened a consultation on probate registration charges for 2026. It proposes a 5% uplift to offset inflation and satisfy Legal Services Board requirements, while keeping the compensation scheme levy unchanged. The measures are projected to create a £13,000 surplus...

At present, several legal forms suit a charitable body, with the principal options being: a trust an unincorporated association a company limited by guarantee a charitable incorporated organisation Other possibilities include: a company incorporated by Royal Charter a statutory corporation a company limited by shares an industrial and provident association a friendly society community interest company Over time, the newer charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), created by Part 11 of the Charities Act 2006 (CA 2006), is expected to supplant the company limited by guarantee as a preferred route, as it shares that model’s benefits yet falls solely under the Charity Commission (CC). When selecting a structure for the charity, the CC provides a useful guide: Charity types: how to choose a structure. Incorporated v unincorporated It should be understood that incorporated and unincorporated bodies differ in important ways, and recognising these distinctions is essential when choosing an appropriate...

Over 800,000 charity trustees are thought to operate in England and Wales, with many serving on a voluntary basis. Trustees are the decision-makers, and every charity trustee-paid or unpaid-must use their decision-making authority in a way that satisfies legal obligations drawn from a range of sources. If they do not, they can, in the end, be held responsible for any failure. This Practice Note offers a summary of the principles that govern charity trustee decision-making in England and Wales. Key principles For general guidance on trustees’ powers and duties, see Practice Note: Charity trustees-duties and liabilities. The main principles for trustee decision-making are: When making a decision, trustees owe fiduciary duties to: operate within the powers conferred by the charity constitution act in good faith always act solely in the charity’s interests In addition, trustees must: ensure they are properly informed about the decision take...

Charitable appeals Appeals for charity are commonplace, yet it is often overlooked that when members of the public contribute to an appeal for a purpose that is charitable in law, a trust for that purpose arises automatically by operation of law. This remains true even where the written terms are remarkably brief, eg ‘Save the Rembrandt for the Nation!’ or ‘Little Snoring Village Hall Roof Appeal’, or where there is no written notice at all but only an oral statement such as ‘A retiring collection will be made for Cancer Research’. The act of giving for a charitable purpose places those who receive the funds under a fiduciary obligation to apply them to that purpose, and to no other. Put another way, the recipients hold the money as charitable trustees. The nature of the purposes and appeals, the intended audience, and the amount sought (and in fact raised) vary widely. Initiatives may range from a modest local endeavour to a national campaign, and the totals collected may extend from...