The committee heard from Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive of National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NVCO) who welcomed the bill as an "opportunity to create a modern legal framework based on the demonstration of Public Benefit." He praised many aspects of the Bill yet also raised some concerns, particularly the call for the Charity Commission to ensure charities maximise their "social and economic impact".

In a statement Stuart Etherington said: "Although such terminology is currently in vogue, while most charities could probably show they have social impact, for many any economic impact is likely to be incidental to their work. For over three years we have seen a very constructive process in which broad consensus seemed to be reached between very wide sections of the voluntary sector and the Government’s Strategy Unit on the nature of future charity law reform. At no point was it proposed that Public Benefit should be defined in such terms. We will now be using the opportunity of the Scrutiny Committee process to influence the contents of the draft bill "

NCVO also support a proposed change to the outline of the role of the Charity Commission, which is currently described as "ambiguous". The Strategy Unit has recommended that the role be more clearly defined with a stronger focus on its regulatory function, which the Bill currently neglects to do.

Also present to give evidence were Stephen Bubb, Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO), Mary Marsh, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and Dr John Low, Royal National Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing People (RNID)

More sessions are planned up until 21 July and include an opportunity for small charities to voice their opinions. The joint parliamentary committee are to report back by 30 September.