The Charities Act 2011 received Royal Assent on 14 December and will come into force in March 2012. The new Act repeals and replaces the Recreational Charities Act 1958, the Charities Act 1993 and many of the provisions of the Charities Act 2006.
Office for Civil Society and the Law Commission promoted and developed the new Act and sought the Charity Commission's views on many of the technical drafting issues.
The new Act fulfils a commitment made during the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill which led to the Charities Act 2006. It simply consolidates existing legislation and so does not affect the legal basis of the Commission's guidance in any way. It does, however, mean that the references in the Commission's guidance will be amended to refer to the new Act. The Commission has already begun to carry out this work.