Charity governance and constitutions

Charity Commission 5 minute guides

The Charity Commission has recently published 5 new 5 minute guides that trustees and charity operational staff may find a useful reminder of the basic principles for running a charity

Charity Commission reports on mismanagement of The Captain Tom Foundation

The Charity Commission has published a lengthy report with details of its statutory inquiry into The Captain Tom Foundation, highlighting various instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity which has garnered quite some attention in the national media.

Harrow’s application for cy-près scheme denied by the High Court

The charity which operates Harrow School has had an application denied by the High Court to amend and update its charitable objects. The charity had applied for a cy-près scheme, which is a document that amends provisions in the governing document of a charity

Hempsons celebrate another great year in The Legal 500

We are delighted to announce another outstanding year for Hempsons in The Legal 500. Our team has been praised for its exceptional reputation and high quality of work over the past year.

Hempsons’ Charities and Social Enterprise Newsbrief: Autumn/Winter 2018

Welcome to our autumn/winter 2018 edition of Hempsons’ Charities and Social Enterprise Newsbrief.

Newsflash: Charity Commission publishes report on tackling abuse and mismanagement in the charity sector

Reforms on the way – co-operatives and community benefit societies

The Law Commission has turned its focus to co-operative societies and community benefit societies, Martyn Robinson discusses the issues.

Refresh your governance: new Charity Governance Code

Refresh your governance: new Charity Governance Code. For all Boards of Trustees who are applying the Charity Governance Code, or are thinking of doing so, you need to read the new Code just published. The emphasis is on refreshing the Code and this is not a dramatic rewrite. 

Social Enterprise: all aboard?

It was something I heard debated around the time the Social Value Act was being put together: an earlier draft of the legislation had included a definition of ‘social enterprise’ with the idea being that only social enterprises (with a capital ‘S’ and a capital ‘E’) could benefit. However, this was ultimately rejected in the parliamentary process leaving open the possibility that anyone who wanted to (even the private sector) could offer social value as part of a public sector procurement process and get the same credit for it as a CIC or a charity or someone else traditionally seen as part of the ‘not for profit’ sector.

The Charities Bill: What difference does it make to our charity?

The Law Commission has made a series of recommendations for legislative change to the Charities Act 2011 following extensive consultation.

Trust Matters

“Trust Matters”. These are the bywords of the Charity Commission for its recent report on public trust in charities, issued in July.

Trust Matters

“Trust Matters”. These are the bywords of the Charity Commission for its recent report on public trust in charities, issued in July 2018.

Trustees – Understand & Improve your Governance – Ian Hempseed to speak at Sheffield Law Society event

Sheffield & District Law Society are hosting a talk for charity Trustees where Hempsons' Ian Hempseed will be speaking. The aim of the talk is to help charity trustees understand their responsibilities and the demarcation of roles between them and the Chief Executive.