Update: January 2022
Charity Law
Charities are a force for good and millions regularly donate to help them help others. There are around 167,000 charities in England and Wales registered with the Charity Commission, the regulator, as well as thousands of unregistered charities. Registered charities alone have a combined annual income of over £74 billion.[Law Commission]
The Charity Commission
The Commission is the registrar and regulator of charities in England and Wales. The Commission is a non-ministerial government department and part of the Civil Service. The Commission is, by law, independent from ministerial influence or control over its day-to-day operations and decision-making. The Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’) section 13 (4), states that: ‘In the exercise of its functions, the Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any Minister of the Crown or other government department.’ As a public body, the Commission is committed to governance excellence and to being accountable and transparent for its decisions and activities.
Descriptions of Charitable Purposes under Sec 3 of The Charities Act 2011
(1)A purpose falls within this subsection if it falls within any of the following descriptions of purposes—
(a)the prevention or relief of poverty;
(b)the advancement of education;
(c)the advancement of religion;
(d)the advancement of health or the saving of lives;
(e)the advancement of citizenship or community development;
(f)the advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science;
(g)the advancement of amateur sport;
(h)the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity;
(i)the advancement of environmental protection or improvement;
(j)the relief of those in need because of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage;
(k)the advancement of animal welfare;
(l)the promotion of the efficiency of the armed forces of the Crown or of the efficiency of the police, fire and rescue services or ambulance services;
(m)any other purposes—
(i)that are not within paragraphs (a) to (l) but are recognised as charitable purposes by virtue of section 5 (recreational and similar trusts, etc.) or under the old law,
(ii)that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to, or within the spirit of, any purposes falling within any of paragraphs (a) to (l) or sub-paragraph (i), or
(iii)that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to, or within the spirit of, any purposes which have been recognised, under the law relating to charities in England and Wales, as falling within sub-paragraph (ii) or this sub-paragraph.
(2)In subsection (1)—
(a)in paragraph (c), “religion” includes—
(i)a religion which involves belief in more than one god, and
(ii)a religion which does not involve belief in a god,
(b)in paragraph (d), “the advancement of health” includes the prevention or relief of sickness, disease or human suffering,
(c)paragraph (e) includes—
(i)rural or urban regeneration, and
(ii)the promotion of civic responsibility, volunteering, the voluntary sector or the effectiveness or efficiency of charities,
(d)in paragraph (g), “sport” means sports or games which promote health by involving physical or mental skill or exertion,
(e)paragraph (j) includes relief given by the provision of accommodation or care to the persons mentioned in that paragraph, and
(f)in paragraph (l), “fire and rescue services” means services provided by fire and rescue authorities under Part 2 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004.
(3)Where any of the terms used in any of paragraphs (a) to (l) of subsection (1), or in subsection (2), has a particular meaning under the law relating to charities in England and Wales, the term is to be taken as having the same meaning where it appears in that provision.
(4)In subsection (1)(m)(i), “the old law” means the law relating to charities in England and Wales as in force immediately before 1 April 2008.
Registered charities in England and Wales
By Income
| Charity name | Income |
|---|---|
| THE ARTS COUNCIL OF ENGLAND | £1,488,655,343 |
| LLOYD’S REGISTER FOUNDATION | £1,290,104,000 |
| THE BRITISH COUNCIL | £1,288,716,795 |
| INTERNATIONAL FINANCE FACILITY FOR IMMUNISATION COMPANY | £1,059,428,626 |
| THE CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION | £1,008,480,000 |
| SAVE THE CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL | £876,468,492 |
| NUFFIELD HEALTH | £779,900,000 |
| CANCER RESEARCH UK | £656,107,415 |
| CARDIFF UNIVERSITY | £568,812,000 |
| UNITED CHURCH SCHOOLS FOUNDATION LTD | £553,383,000 |
By Volunteers
| Charity name | Volunteers |
|---|---|
| PARKRUN GLOBAL LIMITED | 279710 |
| KEEP BRITAIN TIDY | 196260 |
| THE SCOUT ASSOCIATION | 156762 |
| NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH NETWORK | 100000 |
| THE GUIDE ASSOCIATION SOUTH-WEST ENGLAND | 100000 |
| THE GUIDE ASSOCIATION | 80000 |
| THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS (GREAT BRITAIN) | 61000 |
| EDUCATION & EMPLOYERS TASKFORCE | 56642 |
| THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION | 55000 |
| THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST OR NATURAL BEAUTY | 50000 |
By Investment
| Charity name | Investments |
|---|---|
| WELLCOME TRUST | £32,712,467,776 |
| GARFIELD WESTON FOUNDATION | £9,767,172,000 |
| CHURCH COMMISSIONERS FOR ENGLAND | £8,027,136,985 |
| THE CHILDREN’S INVESTMENT FUND FOUNDATION (UK) | £4,354,352,181 |
| THE LEVERHULME TRUST | £3,841,392,000 |
| BRIDGE HOUSE ESTATES | £1,686,940,654 |
| TRINITY COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE | £1,668,295,000 |
| THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST OR NATURAL BEAUTY | £1,473,798,000 |
| BLACKROCK CHARITIES FUNDS | £1,402,428,027 |
| MOTABILITY | £1,367,973,000 |
Charitable Activities
| Charity name | Expenditure charitable activities |
|---|---|
| THE ARTS COUNCIL OF ENGLAND | £1,419,616,010 |
| THE BRITISH COUNCIL | £1,282,076,569 |
| WELLCOME TRUST | £1,018,645,985 |
| NUFFIELD HEALTH | £869,600,000 |
| SAVE THE CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL | £860,273,358 |
| THE CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION | £857,314,000 |
| CANCER RESEARCH UK | £510,601,922 |
| CARDIFF UNIVERSITY | £465,661,000 |
| UNITED CHURCH SCHOOLS FOUNDATION LTD | £458,315,000 |
| THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST OR NATURAL BEAUTY | £456,953,000 |
SOURCE: The Charity Commission
