Charities Act 2006
This section of the web-site provides an introduction to some of the provisions in the Charities Act 2006 (the Act) that will be of most interest to the higher education (HE) sector. These are:
- charitable purposes
- public benefit
- registered and exempt charities
- regulation of charities
- impact on the HE sector.
About the Act
The Act made a number of important changes to the general law that applies to all charities. It also contains provisions that apply to exempt charities and are, therefore, of direct interest to higher education institutions (HEIs) and to HEFCE.
The 2006 Act amends the Charities Act 1993, so it is often necessary to read both in order to understand the current legal position. Consultation on a draft Charities Consolidation Bill ended in December 2009, and the Office for Civil Society is now finalising the Bill for its Parliamentary process.
Many of the provisions of the 2006 Act have been or are being introduced by statutory instruments. Three of these are highlighted below because of their particular impact on higher education.
Statutory instruments
The provisions of the 2006 Act that designate and empower HEFCE as a principal regulator came into effect on 1 June 2010.
- The Charities Act 2006 (Changes in Exempt Charities) Order 2010
- Explanatory memorandum (Adobe PDF 139K)
- The Charities Act 2006 (Principal Regulators of Exempt Charities) Regulations 2010
- Explanatory memorandum (Adobe PDF 147K)
- The Charities Act 2006 (Commencement No.7, Transitional and Transitory Provisions and Savings) Order 2010
Further information
The full text of the Charities Acts and some other related statutory instruments can be found at:
- Charities Act 2006
- Charities Act 1993
- The Charities Act 2006 (Charitable Companies Audit and Group Accounts Provisions) Order 2008
- The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008
- The Charities (Exception from Registration) Regulations 2010
Last updated 23 June 2010