Committee publication · Estimate memoranda · 3 June 2025
Charity Commission Main Estimate 2025-26 Memorandum
From: Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Inquiry: The work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Summary
The Charity Commission's Main Estimate for 2025–26 requests £33.389m in Resource DEL funding, a 5.9% increase from 2024–25, plus £4.450m Capital DEL. The non-ministerial department regulates charities in England and Wales. It faces rising demand across statutory functions while implementing efficiency savings of £1.5m; discussions with HM Treasury are underway to establish a 'sustainable Commission' capable of meeting statutory objectives under tighter resource constraints.
Key findings
- Resource DEL increases by £1.870m (5.9%) to £33.389m; Capital DEL decreases by £0.824m (15.6%) to £4.450m due to reduced right-to-use asset renewal costs.
- Commission identified £1.5m in savings through staffing reductions and capitalisation of staff costs, but this has reduced operational capacity below sustainable levels.
- Record number of charity registration applications received; 9,008 applications processed, with 96% assessed within 10 working days and 77% within 30 days.
- Concluded high-profile Captain Tom Foundation investigation in November 2024, finding repeated misconduct and mismanagement; released £12.4m in dormant funds (£9.1m England, £3.3m Wales).
- Five-year strategy (2024–29) prioritises proportionate regulation, support for compliance, independence, technological innovation, and staff empowerment; 2024–25 showed 60% reduction in higher-risk casework vs. 2019 General Election.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Charity Commission for England and Wales, HM Treasury, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), Charity Commission Northern Ireland (CCNI), Charities Regulator Ireland, David Holdsworth
Notable line
“… of Phase 2 of the Spending Review) to agree a 'sustainable Commission', one that is capable of meeting its statutory objectives.”
Key Quotes
“The Commission is a non-ministerial Government Department, established by law to be the registrar and regulator of charities in England and Wales.”
“The Commission received a £1.870 increase in Resource DEL via the last Spending Review.”
“… discussions are underway with HMT (as part of Phase 2 of the Spending Review) to agree a 'sustainable Commission', one that is capable of meeting its statutory objectives.”
“… we have received a record number of registration applications. This is one example of the backdrop of continuously rising demand across all of our core statutory functions, against which we have been required to prioritise use of our tightly constrained resource.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗