The Law Commission will publish a draft charities bill in the summer, containing its proposals for the reform of charity law, a government spokesman has confirmed.

The Law Commission was asked by government to look into a number of issues of charity law and in 2015 it published an extensive consultation with 40 proposals, as well as 57 other areas where it felt there may be a need for change. It has since followed this up with a supplementary consultation in 2016.

The commission has proposed a number of technical changes to charity law, governing issues including how Royal Charter charities change their objects, as well as guidance for charities to change their purposes, rules governing mergers, rules governing charity names, and certain powers of the Charity Tribunal.

Normal procedure for the Law Commission, once it has completed a review of law, is to put forward a draft bill. These bills are considered by government for submission to Parliament, with most but not all being taken forward in some form.

Last week Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, a Conservative peer who carried out a review of charity regulation, asked the government “when they intend to introduce the Law Commission bill on charity regulation”.

Lord Ashton of Hyde, a minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which leads on charity issues, said the Law Commission report was expected in the summer.

“The government will need to consider the report and its recommendations carefully,” he said.