Coulda, Shoulda, Maybe list
MBS is often asked to review policies for clients, and as part of that someone will say, ‘make sure we have what we need‘ or similar. Sadly, the Charity Commission doesn’t supply a simple or straightforward list of policies and procedures that you need to legally have.
Instead, they expect you to read through the legislation and guidance they supply. Where they say, ‘a charity must‘, that means it’s legally required; where they say, ‘a charity should‘, then it’s good practice but not legally required. Have a look at their guidance about what charities ‘must’ and ‘should’ do.
Of course, you may have other policies, procedures and guidelines that as an organisation you have decided you need. There may be Memorandums of Understanding between your organisation and another, or partnership agreements or any multitude of legal or best practice matters.
The Charity Commission
The Charity Commission’s website and publication guides are the best resource for accurate information.
They have a compliance toolkit which I direct all clients to:
They have a page on Charities & Litigation:
The Charities Act 2022 has both a guidance page and an implementation plan page:
Other legal resources
If you have a query about legal or legislative requirements it is worth paying for professional advice. Your accountants, Independent Examiners, Auditors or of course legal advisors are all invaluable, don’t forget any .
There are charities that specialise in giving advice to charities here are the ones we’ve worked with.
Wendrie Heywood
MBS Founder
