In a fast-moving political landscape, it is essential to stay up to date with current thinking and practice across our sector. At ACEVO, we seek to draw attention to new and developing issues that affect how leaders work. The policy updates below offer sector news and insights linked to ACEVO’s organisational priorities, including governance, regulation and diversity, whilst also highlighting our influencing work and any relevant legislation.
Leadership
Iran war
On Wednesday 15 April, a group of 8 senior representatives from the charity and voluntary sector infrastructure bodies (including ACEVO’s chief executive, Jane Ide and head of influencing, Roberta Fusco) met with ministers and government officials at Number 10. The roundtable discussion focused on the impact of the Iran War on charities and the communities they serve. The group shared the sector’s wider financial and funding challenges and Ministers recognised the impactful contribution that civil society organisations make to society.
The roundtable, which began with remarks from Stephanie Peacock MP, Minister for Civil Society, and Rt Hon Lucy Rigby KC MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, was also an opportunity to reflect on the new Civil Society Covenant. Thank you to members who helped to prepare for the meeting by feeding in their experiences and concerns. We welcome your continued contributions as the weeks and our influencing efforts progress.
You can read the press release and Jane’s reflection of the meeting.
Governance
ACEVO & AoC board behaviours and dynamics survey results
In December 2025, together with the Association of Chairs (AoC) we ran a survey to explore CEO-chair relationships, board culture and governance. The evidence from the survey will be shared in a free session taking place on Zoom hosted by AoC on Thursday 30 April 5pm-6pm. Tim Harrison-Byrne (nfpResearch co-managing director) will be leading the session with ACEVO’s Roberta Fusco and AoC’s chief executive, Liz Lowther. They will review what has been learnt and share recommendations on maintaining positive board and board-CEO dynamics and relationships.
Local and devolved elections
The local and devolved elections are taking place on Thursday 7 May. The Institute for Government (IfG) helpfully provide a detailed analysis, explainers on devolution and updates. New administrations in Scotland, Wales and across English councils will set spending plans, reshape public service contracts and decide how far to involve voluntary organisations in delivery. Charity leaders should prepare now to brief, engage and build relationships with whoever takes power at local, devolved and regional level.
Consultations on new powers for the Charity Commission
The government has plans to expand the Charity Commission’s regulatory powers, primarily framed around tackling extremism. Measures under consideration include speeding up the process for investigating charities suspected of engaging in extremist behaviour, including strengthening its powers to close them down if needed. Further measures being considered include mandatory trustee ID verification, the digitisation of charity accounts and a strengthening of local authority powers to issue fines and take other enforcement action to tackle unlicensed street fundraising.
We are still awaiting the launch of two new consultations. One will road-test plans to automatically ban individuals with a criminal conviction for hate crime from serving as charity trustees or senior managers. The other will consult on plans to strengthen the Commission’s powers to disqualify individuals where there is evidence that they have promoted violence or hatred.
The proposals have already alarmed much of the sector. A letter signed by ACEVO and other membership bodies and charities cautioned against a proposal to introduce broader grounds on which organisations could be reported for extremism, and urged the government to ensure any new measures are accompanied by robust safeguards.
Charity Commission launches updated guidance on conflicts of interest
The Charity Commission has updated its trustee guidance (CC29) on conflicts of interest, following a 23% rise in a single year in cases involving the alleged abuse of charitable status for private benefit. Conflicts involving trustees’ personal interests have been a recurring factor in many of these cases, posing a risk to public trust in the sector. Crucially, most unmanaged conflicts appear to stem from a lack of awareness rather than deliberate misconduct, with many trustees, the majority of whom are volunteers, struggling to recognise when a conflict arises. The revised guidance is shorter and clearer, plus includes practical examples to help trustees identify both financial conflicts and conflicts of loyalty, with the aim of better protecting charities from harm.
Government launches Our Place to Give
The government has launched ‘Our Place to Give’, a new plan to redirect philanthropic investment towards England’s most disadvantaged communities. Backed by £1m in funding, the place-based plan will offer opportunities for match-funding, better involve philanthropists in funding programmes and ensure their voices are brought in and heard as programmes are devised and implemented. With up to £7 trillion expected to pass between generations by 2050, the plan aims to unlock new giving pathways, complementing the existing £5.8bn Pride in Place programme to drive lasting change in the communities that need it most.
Legislation
Civil Society Covenant
The Civil Society Covenant is moving into implementation. A new Civil Society Council, made up of voices from across the sector has been established to oversee the Covenant’s delivery and to provide a forum on cross-cutting issues. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published an initial suite of local resources, including an overview, fact sheet and slide pack, to help civil society organisations and public bodies put the Covenant’s principles into practice, with training resources also in development. Meanwhile, we are awaiting the announcement of the grant recipient(s) of the £11.59m Local Covenant Partnerships fund, which will support 15 local authority areas across England.
King’s speech
The King’s Speech is due to take place on Wednesday 13 May where the government’s next programme of legislation will be announced. The current session of Parliament will be prorogued ahead of the King’s Speech, on a date that is yet to be announced. Bills which do not make it through both the Commons and Lords before the end of this parliamentary session will not become law. They will instead have to begin the legislative process again, unless special arrangements are made.
Major bills that have not yet completed both Houses include the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and the Crime and Policing Bill.
Crime and Policing Bill
The Crime and Policing Bill is now in its final parliamentary stages, having completed scrutiny in the House of Lords and moved through the “ping-pong” stage in the Commons. It is widely expected to receive Royal Assent soon.
For charity leaders, this signals that changes to policing powers, public order rules and safeguarding expectations are likely to come into force in the near term. In practice, charities, especially those working with vulnerable groups, running public events or engaging in advocacy, should start preparing for tighter compliance requirements, possible new duties around safeguarding and cooperation with authorities and a more regulated environment for protests or community activity.
As these updates show, the external environment for leaders and their organisations is shifting quickly. We will continue to share insights, resources and reflections to help leaders navigate changes with confidence. And we also want to hear from you! How are these changes affecting your organisation? Share your experiences with us at policy@acevo.org.uk.