The Charity Commission has revamped the beta version of its digital charity register, which came in for criticism for making it easier for those who wish to attack charities.

A beta version of the Commission’s search tool was launched in May 2015. 

Last December the True and Fair Foundation produced critical report into charities, using information about spending ratios that was highlighted by the Commission’s beta search tool. At the time the Commission told the foundation that it had misinterpreted the data.

Charity Finance editor Gareth Jones, wrote an article urging the Commission to rethink how it displays information and the Commission subsequently said it intended to make changes. 

The new version has moved the information about spending ratios away from the left-hand column of the overview and to the bottom of its financials tab and amended how it explains spending ratios. 

Previously it included an administrations cost figure, but it now focuses on the amount spent on charitable activities. 

It has also added an explanation of what it means by spending ratios. It now displays three percentages: charitable spending as a percentage of total income available for charitable spending, percentage of income available for charitable activities, and the percentage retained.