The Charity Commission is to work with the Electoral Commission to update its guidance on charities, elections and referendums, to explain the changes introduced by the Lobbying Act which received Royal Assent yesterday.

The Charity Commission will update its guidance on charities, elections and referendums, which supplements its guidance on campaigning and political activity.  

The Charity Commission will coordinate its guidance with the Electoral Commission, which is preparing its own guidance for all organisations affected by the legislation.

A Charity Commission spokeswoman has said that it is encouraging charities to sign up for the “campaigner updates” that the Electoral Commission will be publishing over the coming months.

The Lobbying Act, which faced stark resistance from the civil society sector during its passage through Parliament, changes the rules for non-party campaigners in the run-up to elections.

It includes requirements for organisations to register with the Electoral Commission if they spend more than a set threshold on certain activities during regulated electoral period.

The changes come into force on 19 September 2014 and apply until the general election in 2015.

Jane Hobson (pictured), head of policy at the Charity Commission, said: “I encourage charities to read the guidance that will be published by the Electoral Commission and the Charity Commission in the coming months to make sure they know what steps they need to take to comply with the new rules.

"It is really important that charities understand that registering with the Electoral Commission will not mean that charities are failing to comply with charity law on campaigning and political activity.

“Charity law makes quite clear that political activity and campaigning can be legitimate and valuable activities for charities to undertake as a way of furthering their charitable purposes. This legislation changes the rules that apply in the run-up to general elections, but does not challenge the important principle that charities are free to campaign, so long as they do so to further their mission.”

The Commission expects to publish its updated guidance this summer and will work closely with the Electoral Commission, as well as the charity regulators in Scotland and Northern Ireland to help charity trustees understand and comply with the new legislation.