Charity registrations in England and Wales have increased after dipping to a 33-year-low, according to Charity Commission data.
The data shows that 4,829 organisations in England and Wales registered as charities in 2023, up from 4,021 in 2022, while the number of charities removed from the register fell from 5,918 to 4,522 in 2023.
There were 191 mergers in 2023, a sharp drop from the 1,588 registered in 2022.
This fall is due to the 2022 figures being driven by the merging of 1,279 Jehovah’s Witness congregations into one charity, the Kingdom Hall Trust.
Sharp drop in removed charities
In 2022, the rise in removed charities was driven by the Kingdom Hall Trust, which the Charity Commission said was likely to be one of the largest mergers ever.
Predictably, the amount of removed charities dropped after this spike.
In 2023, the Commission reported that 191 charitable organisations merged or transferred their assets to another charity, compared to 1,588 the previous year.
Despite 2022’s figure being boosted by Kingdom Hall Trust's merger, 2023’s figure is also below the number of mergers registered in 2021, which saw 293 organisations merge.
As the graph below shows, the amount of charity mergers completed in 2023 was the lowest since 2018, when were registered.
Charities working in local areas rises
When registering with the Charity Commission, organisations can choose to select whether they work in a specific area or nationally.
Newly registered charities in 2023 that said they were operating throughout England and Wales increased from 996 in 2022 to 1,122 in 2023.
Those that selected that they would be working throughout England also saw an increase from 690 in 2022 to 904 last year.
Similarly, the amount of newly registered charities that said their specific area of operation was throughout London increased from 66 in 2022 to 95 in 2023.
Likewise, those charities registered as working throughout Wales rose from 29 in 2022 to 46 last year.
New charities focused on working in the 119 local areas in England rose from 1,701 in 2022 to 2,044 in 2023.
Newly registered charities working in the 33 London boroughs rose slightly from 204 in 2022 to 235 last year.
Meanwhile, organisations that registered as operating in the 22 local areas in Wales increased from 150 in 2022 to 176 in 2023.
A Charity Commission spokesperson told Civil Society: “The number of applications to register, as well as removals from our register can fluctuate. However, we continue to have a strong charitable spirit in this country which is demonstrated by the number of new applications we received last year.”
“When applying to register a charity, we encourage all trustees to follow our guidance and tools available on our website to check this is the correct step for their organisation and to ensure their application has the best chance of being approved.”
Editor's note: This article has been edited to include a quote from the Charity Commission on the figures.
