CharitEpulse: No rest for the charitable
In this episode of CharitEpulse, our panel James Saunders, Charles Mesquita and Catherine Rustomji discuss the latest legal, regulatory and operational developments affecting charities across the UK. From governance and accountability to banking pressures and compliance challenges, they explore what these issues mean for charity leaders and trustees.
In this episode, the trio discuss:
- Charity Commission in contempt of Parliament: leading to an unreserved apology and an independent review led by Sir Gary Hickinbottom.
- High Court win for charities: Freedom from Torture and the Helen Bamber Foundation successfully challenged the Home Office for unlawfully removing protections for survivors of torture and trafficking without consultation – an early test of the civil society covenant.
- Banking burden grows: UK charities spend an estimated 12 million hours per year on banking admin (equivalent to 6,000 full-time workers), with rural access, fees and trustee verification among the top concerns.
- EHRC compliance gap: the Charity Commission urged charities to comply with the Equality and Human Rights Commission Code of Practice now, while admitting its own revised guidance won’t arrive until autumn 2026 at the earliest – leaving many charities without clear direction.
- Local authorities in default: 45 local authorities are failing their legal duties as charity trustees, with concerns over transparency, asset double-counting and a lack of proper accounts.
The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube.
If you have any questions or feedback for the panel, please contact James directly.
