In this week's Briefing: The Charity Commission has published information about the 2018 annual return service which will be available later in the summer. The Fundraising Regulator has published a new section of the Code of Fundraising Practice covering fundraising platforms, and accompanying guidance. DCMS has opened up its next round of funding for public service mutuals.

In this week's Briefing: The Information Commissioner’s Office has published guidance on the right to be informed and on automated decision making and profiling. The government has appointed four industry champions to expand the dormant assets scheme across insurance and pensions, banking, investment and securities. New Philanthropy Capital has published “Diversity in governance: the what, why and how.

In this week's Briefing: The Charity Commission’s guidance on automatic disqualification has been amended to include two declarations, one for trustees and one for senior managers. NCVO has made available a Legal checklist for boards of charities and other voluntary organisations. The Department for Education has published its response to the recent Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) consultation.

In this week's Briefing: The Charity Commission has updated some of its publications to reflect the Commission’s recent guidance on automatic disqualification and on safeguarding. The Institute of Fundraising has published updated guidance on acceptance, refusal and return of donations. NCVO has published its 2018 Almanac.

BWB's Charity & Social Enterprise team are delighted to present their 2018 Summer Update.

In this week's Briefing: The Charity Commission has launched a new trustee welcome pack. The Fundraising Regulator has published two further anonymised case studies, one about an event organised by a commercial participator and one about the Fundraising Preference Service. The Department for Education has published a data protection toolkit for schools.

In this week's Briefing: A coalition of 65 organisations from across the care sector has called for an independent review into how leaving the EU will impact on social care. The Cabinet Office and Civil Service have published a guidance note for civil servants ahead of the local elections to be held on 3 May 2018. New Philanthropy Capital has published its mergers report “Let’s talk mission and merger”.

In this weeks' Briefing: The Charity Commission has published the transcript of Baroness Stowell’s speech to the NCVO conference on Monday 16th April, her first major speech since taking up the position. The Fundraising Regulator and Charity Commission have issued guidance about the requirements under the 2016 Act for charities above the audit threshold to include certain statements about fundraising in their trustees’ annual report.

In this week's Briefing: The Charity Commission has changed a number of its online forms for notifying events or seeking consent from the Commission. The Charity Commission has issued a response to a report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights on freedom of speech in universities and the role of students’ unions. The Court of Appeal has referred a case about VAT on investment management fees to the CJEU for guidance.

In this week's Briefing: The Charity Commission has published two pieces of written evidence which it has submitted to the inquiry into freedom of speech in universities launched by the Joint Committee on Human Rights. Various NGOs, DFID, the Charity Commission and safeguarding experts have pledged to improve safeguarding standards, following the Safeguarding Summit on 5 March 2018. A pensions white paper has been published.

In this week's Briefing:  The Charity Commission has published a case report about a failed appeal and return of donations. The government has launched a new phase in a campaign to tackle child abuse and neglect. The government has published its “Integrated Communities Strategy” green paper. The European Commission has published a proposal for a Regulation on European crowdfunding service providers for business.

In this week's Brieifing: The Parliamentary International Development Committee has launched an inquiry on sexual exploitation and abuse in the aid sector. Theresa May has asked Elizabeth Corley to lead an industry taskforce on impact investment. The Care Quality Commission has carried out a review of the system of services that support children and young people’s mental health. 

Bates Wells Braithwaite (BWB), in collaboration with the Institute of Fundraising (IoF) and More Partnership Ltd, has contributed to a new guide that advises charities on how they can lawfully undertake major donor fundraising and prospect research on existing and potential new supporters.

In this week's Briefing: Baroness Stowell has now formally been announced as the new Chair of the Charity Commission. The Charities Minister, Tracey Crouch, has begun a 12 week consultation on the government’s Civil Society Strategy. The Institute of Fundraising and the Fundraising Regulator have published joint guidance on the GDPR. The Fundraising Regulator has opened up its registration scheme to charities in Northern Ireland.

In this week's Briefing: The Charity Commission has issued a report about the reporting of matters of material significance by auditors. The Charity Commission and OSCR are inviting comments on 21 proposed amendments to the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) following changes in UK-Irish accounting standards. The Office of Tax Simplification has published a scoping document for its review of inheritance tax.

The Charity Commission has recently updated its guidance on reporting serious incidents.

The BWB Charity & Social Enterprise team are delighted to present their Spring 2018 update.

In this week's Briefing: The Fundraising Regulator has made changes to the Code of Fundraising Practice to take account of new data protection laws. The Prime Minister has launched a wide-ranging review into post-18 education. The government has published its response to the Commission on Dormant Assets.

Purposely was designed and created by UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, in partnership with law firm Bates Wells Braithwaite (BWB), and with strategic support from the Department for  Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).

In this week's Briefing, HRMC has withdrawn its ChA1 form from its website, replacing it with an "application for recognition from HMRC for your charity", and published new internal guidance on grants on contracts; the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has launched a new inquiry to investigate the ways in which taking part in culture activities can have a positive impact on helath; and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland's registration list has been renamed "the combined list".