Chancellor urged to fund Charity Commission out of tax

Chancellor Philip Hammond has been urged to appropriately fund the Charity Commission out of general taxation, rather than pursue a levy system.

Directory of Social Change chief executive Debra Allcock Tyler wrote to the Chancellor this week, setting out arguments against a system in which charities pay a fee to fund their regulation.

Allcock Tyler called for the regulator to be adequately funded, saying budget cuts in recent years have led to the departure of senior and experienced staff and curtailment of help and advice for trustees.

But the letter argued that fees are wrong in principle, as they “siphon off” public donations made towards meeting charitable aims.

Fees would be another unwelcome overhead for charities, Allcock Tyler said, and represent poor value for money due to the administration costs that would accompany a charging system.

A levy could also lead to “bad or distorted” regulation, and leave the commission vulnerable to criticism for being open to influence from larger charities that account for a larger proportion of its budget.

“I strongly urge you to find an adequate settlement for the Charity Commission which does not involve charging charities,” Allcock Tyler wrote. “The commission’s work is critical to the effective functioning of hundreds of thousands of charities across England and Wales. Adequately funding it via general taxation is in the country’s best interest.”

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


Charity Times video Q&A: In conversation with Hilda Hayo, CEO of Dementia UK
Charity Times editor, Lauren Weymouth, is joined by Dementia UK CEO, Hilda Hayo to discuss why the charity receives such high workplace satisfaction results, what a positive working culture looks like and the importance of lived experience among staff. The pair talk about challenges facing the charity, the impact felt by the pandemic and how it's striving to overcome obstacles and continue to be a highly impactful organisation for anybody affected by dementia.
Charity Times Awards 2023

Mitigating risk and reducing claims
The cost-of-living crisis is impacting charities in a number of ways, including the risks they take. Endsleigh Insurance’s* senior risk management consultant Scott Crichton joins Charity Times to discuss the ramifications of prioritising certain types of risk over others, the financial implications risk can have if not managed properly, and tips for charities to help manage those risks.

* Coming soon… Howden, the new name for Endsleigh.