The Charity Commission is redesigning its online register, which will now include information on how much money charities spend in each country where they work. This data will come from charities' annual returns.
The new register will also include information on whether:
- charity trustees are paid;
- the charity has a trading subsidiary;
- the charity makes grants;
- the charity raises funds from the public;
- the charity is a member of the Fundraising Standards Board;
- the charity receives Gift Aid;
- the charity has written policies on issues including investments and conflicts of interest; and
- the charity is registered with the Care Quality Commission, the Homes and Communities Agency, the Financial Conduct Authority, and/or OFSTED.
The Commission has said that it would consider not publishing information provided on the annual return if 'a particular charity can show that making this information publicly available would cause harm or detriment to the charity... The charity would need to agree this with us before they submit their annual return'. The Commission is adding to its guidance and has said that such information would also be protected from disclosure under a Freedom of Information Act request.
The Charity Commission hopes to launch the new register very shortly.
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