Regulation of civil society

Background

Charities are regulated not just by the Charity Commission and the newly formed Fundraising Regulator, but potentially by a number of other bodies including the CQC, and Ofsted. Many of these regulators charge a levy to those they regulate to part-fund the regulation, but the Charity Commission does not. In the past proposed consultations with the sector on how a levy for charities could work have been announced, but as yet this change has not been put in place.

It is vital that the Charity Commission is a fair, transparent and politically transparent regulator in order to maintain the independence of the sector from political interference. Find out more about our work on the independence of the chair of the Charity Commission.

Our vision

Good regulation is enabling, inclusive and transparent. Strong regulators balance enforcement and support functions and their leadership teams include people with voluntary sector expertise. Regulation should give civil society leaders the tools and information they need to run effective organisations.

We welcome proportionate, transparent and independent regulation and want to work with our regulator in order to hold the sector to account and help charities to improve their practices.