The Charities Bill receives Royal Assent

On the 16th March, the Charities Bill received Royal Assent.

Following on from concerns raised by Sir Edward Garnier in January, we’re pleased to see that:

1. The Government has delayed the introduction of the changes to a minimum of 12 months (which is up from potentially only 6 months) which gives charities and people affected by the changes a chance to understand them and prepare accordingly
2. The Government has responded to our concern about how offences from overseas were going to be treated by, instead, applying the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act as it applies in this country
3. The Charity Commission has set up a working group and will consult with charities on the review of the waiver process
4. The Government is going to lay a report on the impact of the bill on people with criminal records

We’re now focusing our efforts on working with the Charity Commission to ensure that:

1. The review of the waiver process results in a fairer and more inclusive approach towards dealing with people who have convictions that want to become trustees of charities.
2. There is clear guidance available to both charities and individuals on the impact of these changes and how they can work with the waiver process

We will continue to keep the trustee section of our website up to date with news and developments as they arise.

Useful links

• You can read the debate in full here (scroll down to just before column 183)
• The amendment that Edward Garnier put forward can be found here
• More information about our work on the Charities Bill can be found at unlock.devchd.com/trustee.
• Press/media enquiries –click here