The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed that sections 15 and 16 of the Charities Act 2022 will come into force in England and Wales on 27 November 2025, via the Charities Act 2022 (Commencement No. 4 and Saving Provision) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1191). DCMS also notes that a museum and gallery exception applies, with the full list set out in the Schedule to the instrument.
Section 15 introduces a limited power for charity trustees to make small ex gratia payments without prior authorisation where, in all the circumstances, the trustees could reasonably be regarded as being under a moral obligation. The relevant monetary limit is tied to the charity’s gross income in the previous financial year: up to £1,000 where income did not exceed £25,000; £2,500 where income exceeded £25,000 but not £250,000; £10,000 where income exceeded £250,000 but not £1 million; and £20,000 where income exceeded £1 million. The Secretary of State may amend these thresholds by regulations under new section 331B.
Section 16 codifies on a statutory footing the ability of the Charity Commission, the Attorney General or the court to authorise ex gratia payments when trustees could reasonably be regarded as being under a moral obligation to act. The change clarifies that this power can be used even where a statutory or Royal Charter framework contains a general prohibition on using assets otherwise than for the charity’s purposes.
The test is expressly objective and trustees may delegate decision‑making about ex gratia cases within their governance arrangements, while overall responsibility for those decisions remains with the trustee body. This reflects the approach set out in the government’s Explanatory Notes to the Act.
The commencement also activates consequential amendments made by section 40 and paragraphs 26 and 27 of Schedule 2 to the 2022 Act. From commencement, a Commission decision not to make an order under section 106 of the Charities Act 2011 becomes a reviewable matter under section 322(2), and appeal rights are added to Schedule 6 so that the charity and its trustees can seek a remedy in the Tribunal.
Certain museum and gallery collections are excluded from the new ex gratia regime. The instrument preserves existing statutory prohibitions on removing objects from listed national collections, and DCMS indicates that the Schedule to the Regulations contains the complete list of relevant institutions. DCMS says affected charities have been contacted.
The Regulations make saving provision so that applications submitted to the Commission under section 106 of the 2011 Act before the appointed day continue to be handled under the previous regime, with the earlier review and appeal routes applying to those pre‑commencement cases. In practice, charities that have already sought authorisation do not need to reapply under the new framework.
For trustees, the immediate operational effect is that lower‑value requests meeting the objective ‘moral obligation’ test can be resolved internally within the relevant threshold, subject to existing governance and financial controls. Boards should set clear internal authorisation limits, document the reasoning for any decision, and decide whether to delegate day‑to‑day handling to senior staff while retaining oversight.
Charities should confirm whether they fall within the excluded museum and gallery cohort listed in the Schedule; those institutions remain bound by their sector‑specific statutes in relation to collection objects. Others should update risk, finance and legacy management policies to reflect the new thresholds and the availability of Commission, Attorney General or court authorisation for higher‑value cases from 27 November 2025.