New charity Annual Return

In December 2022, the Charity Commission published details of the new charity Annual Return that will apply for financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2023. For most charities, that means it will apply for the first time to December 2023 year end onwards.

Most of the information collected in the Annual Return is not made public, but is used by the Charity Commission to fulfil its oversight responsibilities, and to support charities. The content is therefore interesting, as it provides insight into the areas that the Commission considers current issues, and higher risk.

Highlights of the new return

Donations – charities with income over £100,000 will need to disclose the value of the highest value donation received from a corporate donor, and an individual, and to confirm whether this was from a related party.

Grants making – the value of grants made will need to be split between individuals, other charities and other. There’s also a requirement to confirm whether any charity grants were made to related parties.

Trustee payments – there’s a new question asking what, if any, payments to trustees were made for, and whether any trustees resigned to take up employment with the charity in the year.

Overseas activities – income from overseas must be split per country and source, to the nearest £100. How this income was received must also be confirmed, although the requirement is only to tick from a selection of options. There’s a similar approach for overseas expenditure, with the need to split the expenditure between countries, and to confirm how the funds were remitted. There’s also a need to identify the countries where the charity delivers activities.

Governance – there’s a new question that asks a charity to identify which, from a list of 14 policies and procedures, it has in place.

Area of interest to the Commission, and therefore perceived higher risk

• Interactions with related parties, including trustees
• Overseas activities and influence
• Governance

Details of the new Annual Return can be found here.

Need help?

If you have any concerns regarding the information discussed in this article, or have any other questions, please get in touch with your usual Larking Gowen contact or look for contact details in the Our People section of the our website. Alternatively, call 0330 024 0888 or email enquiry@larking-gowen.co.uk.

Chris Yeates