The Charity Commission has published its revised public benefit guidance, which replaces all previous guidance. The new guidance consists of three short, high level guides on the public benefit requirement, running a charity and public benefit reporting.
The guidance is divided into three documents, which are all available online: (1) Public Benefit: the public benefit requirement (PB1); (2) Public Benefit: running a charity (PB2); and (3) Public Benefit: reporting (PB3). These guides explain what is required to show that an organisation is a charity; what trustees' duties are in carrying out those purposes for the public benefit; and how trustees should report on the public benefit their charity provides in their Annual Report.
The Commission has also published an analysis of the law relating to public benefit and an explanation of the ways in which it has responded to comments made during the consultation, which can also be viewed online.
We will provide a detailed analysis of the implications of the new guidance in a forthcoming article.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.