Charity Commission chair William Shawcross told an audience of charity lawyers yesterday that most of the voluntary sector was happy with the changes to the lobbying bill that have been proposed by the government.

Shawcross was responding to a question at the Charity Law Association conference from Bates Wells Braithwaite lawyer Rosamund McCarthy about whether he supported the government’s lobbying bill or shared the sector’s concerns that it will stifle freedom of speech and freedom of association.

He said: “I think the government, in its response to the outcry from the charitable sector about the lobbying bill, has made significant changes which most of the sector, many charities, are happy with.”

Last week, NCVO and Acevo, which represent over 10,000 charities between them, issued a joint statement complaining that the government’s proposed amendments did not go far enough to protect charities’ ability to campaign in support of their cause.

NCVO’s CEO Sir Stuart Etherington said the amendments “still leave a great deal of ambiguity and uncertainty”, while Acevo’s Sir Stephen Bubb said the government was keen to show it is listening to civil society, but “these amendments don't prevent the bill curbing freedom of speech around elections”.