Charity Act 2011 comes into effect

The Charities Act 2011, which sets out how all charities in England and Wales are registered and regulated, has come into effect on 14 March 2012. The act replaces must of the Charities Acts 1992, 1993 and 2006 and all of the Recreational Charities Act 1958. It does not replace the sections in the Charities Acts about fundraising, which have not yet come into effect. The 2011 Act is intended to make the law easier to understand by replacing four Acts of Parliament with one. It does not make any changes to the law. If you are a registered charity you do not have to do anything differently except refer to the Charities Act 2011 in documents, reports, accounts or statements produced on or after 14 March 2012, even if they relate to an earlier financial period. However, your documents will still be valid if you accidentally refer to earlier Acts and you do not have to up date any previous documents you have finalised before 14 March 2012. To download a copy of the Charities Act 2011 visit www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/25.