The Cabinet Office has published a timetable for introducing new powers for the Charity Commission from the new Charities Act.
The first set of changes, due to be implemented in July, include the Charity Commission’s power to investigate and suspend trustees, remove disqualified trustees, and direct the winding up of a charity.
Further phases will take place in October 2016 and April 2017.
A blog published by the Charity Commission on Friday, said many of the Act’s provisions will “help to address gaps in the Charity Commission’s protective powers and will only affect a relatively small number of charities and individuals”.
But the regulator said the Act will make several “significant changes”, including powers of disqualification which it said “all charities need to be aware of”.
“Protective powers will come into force including the power to direct a charity to wind up and the power to direct charities to not take a particular action,” the regulator said.
“Some of these powers can only be used when we have opened a statutory inquiry. As such, most charities and trustees will not be affected but these powers will improve the Charity Commission’s ability to resolve cases with a better regulatory outcome when we do use them”.
The regulator said the timetable should give trustees “sufficient time to take any action that is needed”.
As part of the Act’s implementation the Charity Commission is opening a consultation today to gage the sector’s thoughts on how it should use its new powers to disqualify trustees and administer official warnings.
The regulator said it will update its investment guidance in time for the first phase of the Charites Act in July.
“We’re going to be updating our investment guidance in time for the introduction in July of this power which allows trustees to invest their charity’s money to get a financial return (even if it’s below a commercial rate) and, at the same time, further its charitable purposes,” it said.
The second phase of the implementation of the Charities Act in October will focus on fundraising agreements, while the third phase next April will address changes to rules on the automatic disqualification of trustees.
