The Charities Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 8 November 2006.

The bulk of the Act is now in force.  The first tranche of provisions came into force on 27 February 2007, with further provisions coming in on 28 November 2007, 18 March 2008, 1 April 2008, and 31 January 2009.  The few remaining provisions are expected to come into force in 2009 or 2010.

For further information on the Act please see the following BWB materials:  

• A modern charity law. An article summarising the provisions of the Charities Act, which was published in Third Sector in November 2006.
• Top ten changes. A note on the ten key implications of the Charities Act for charities, published on 8 November 2006.
• Timetable for coming into force. A note dated 3 February 2009 summarising current expectations regarding implementation of the parts of the Act which are still due to come into force.
• CIOs.  Links to the Charity Commission consultation on CIOs, which closed on 10 December 2008 and a note by BWB summarising the key issues.   
• Fundraising statements.  A note on the changes to fundraising statements which came in on 1 April 2008, including details of the Cabinet Office's draft guidance, and BWB's response to the constitution.
• Public benefit.  The Charity Commission's final published public benefit guidance and BWB's commentary on the guidance  You can also access BWB's response to the Charity Commission's consultation on the draft guidance in 2007.  See also our note on the draft sub-sector guidance issued in early 2008 and our e-flash containing links to the draft guidance on the advancement of moral or ethical belief systems. 
• Provisions in force from March and April 2008.  A note on the changes which came in from March and April 2008.
• Provisions in force from November 2007.  A note including details of the merger provisions, which were implemented in November 2007.
• Provisions in force from February 2007.  A note on the provisions of the Act which came into force in February and April 2007.
• Is it in force? A note indicating when the various sections of the 2006 Act came into force, which is updated regularly.

See also the book on the Charities Act, “Charities – the New Law 2006. A Practical Guide to the Charities Acts”, written by members of the BWB charity and social enterprise team and published by Jordans, priced £39.

External resources on the Charities Act include:

• The full text of the Act is available at www.opsi.gov.uk/acts.htm
• The Cabinet Office implementation plan is available on the Cabinet Office website: see Cabinet Office Implementation
• The Charity Commission's website has information on the Act: see www.charity-commission.gov.uk.