The sector’s umbrella bodies have begun welcoming the Charities Bill.

NCVO’s chief executive Stuart Etherington, said the bill was “the best Christmas present” it could have hoped for. “We are now another step closer to a new Charities Act that will clarify what it means to be a charitable organisation and create a far healthier operating environment for all charities.”

The group was particularly please that the definition of public benefit was left off the face of the bill, leaving responsibility for defining the criteria for meeting it with the Charity Commission. “This will ensure that the law will retain the flexibility to evolve over time,” she said.

At the Institute of Fundraising, meanwhile, chief executive Lindsay Boswell said he was “delighted” with the bill, which introduces a new scheme of self regulation for fundraisers and gives the Charity Commission overall responsibility for licensing public charitable collections.

“The regulation of public collections is a crucial step forward in charity legislation,” says Boswell. “The Bill proposes a unified and comprehensive system that is proportionate for fundraising organisations of all sizes to accommodate. As the regulator of charities, it makes absolute sense for the Charity Commission to play the lead role here, issuing certificates of fitness to organisations collecting in public places.”