{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/charities-act-2022-commencement-no-4-and-saving-provision-regulations-2025/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/charities-act-2022-commencement-no-4-and-saving-provision-regulations-2025/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2025/1191",
  "legislation_title": "The Charities Act 2022 (Commencement No. 4 and Saving Provision) Regulations 2025",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/charities-act-2022-commencement-no-4-and-saving-provision-regulations-2025",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations are the fourth set of commencement regulations made under the Charities Act 2022 (c. 6) (“the 2022 Act”).\nRegulation 2 defines terms used in the Regulations.\nRegulation 3 brings into force a number of sections of, and paragraphs of Schedule 2 to, the 2022 Act, which implement recommendations made by the Law Commission of England and Wales as to technical improvements that could be made to charity law. These improvements are made by way of amendment of the Charities Act 2011 (c. 25) (“the 2011 Act”). The provisions will come into force on 27th November 2025.\nRegulation 3(1)(a) brings into force section 15 of the 2022 Act. Section 15 inserts a new section 331A into the 2011 Act. This creates a new power for charity trustees to make small ex gratia payments where there is a moral obligation to do so, but no legal power (outside section 106 or 331A of the 2011 Act) to do so. This power is exercisable without the need to seek authorisation from the Charity Commission, court or Attorney General where the legal tests are met. The maximum amount for an ex gratia payment made under the new powers is set by reference to the gross annual income of the charity in the previous financial year, and can be amended by regulations made under the new section 331B (also inserted by section 15).\nRegulation 3(1)(b) brings into force section 16 of the 2022 Act, which amends section 106 of the 2011 Act, so as to codify the powers of the court, Attorney General and the Charity Commission to authorise ex gratia payments, putting them on a statutory footing. The test to be applied is an objective one, which does not require a personal decision by the charity trustees. They may therefore delegate decision-making in relation to ex gratia payments, although the charity trustees remain responsible for any such decisions.\nRegulation 3(1)(c) and (d) bring into force section 40 of, and paragraphs 1, 26 and 27 of Schedule 2 to, the 2022 Act, which make consequential amendments in relation to the changes being made by sections 15 and 16 of the 2022 Act.\nRegulation 3(2) excludes certain property from the commencement of sections 15, 16 and 40 of, and paragraphs 1, 26 and 27 of Schedule 2 to, the 2022 Act, by preserving the current prohibition on removing objects from the collections of a number of museums and galleries. The Schedule lists the institutions and property which are subject to the relevant prohibitions.\nRegulation 4 makes saving provision in relation to the commencement of section 16 of the 2022 Act. This is to ensure that where the charity trustees of a charity have applied to the Charity Commission for authorisation under section 106 of the 2011 Act to make an ex gratia payment prior to the commencement of section 16, section 106 will continue to apply to that application as if section 16 had not been commenced.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/1191/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T21:09:41.063027+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}