David Holdsworth’s ICAEW Charity Conference speech: recruitment, smaller charities, inflation and EHRC guidance

In a wide-ranging speech at the annual Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) Charity Conference in January, the Commission’s Chief Executive, David Holdsworth, announced a major recruitment drive to meet an ‘extraordinary’ rise in demand for its services.

An additional 80 staff will be recruited, representing a 23% uplift in headcount, and they will also be investing in technology and digital services over the next three-year period. His comments came shortly after the release of figures for casework and registrations, which bear out the rising demands on the Commission. They show, for example, that the Commission received more than 11,000 registration applications in 2025, an increase of 16% over the previous year.

Discussing developments in regulation, David Holdsworth confirmed that the Commission is working on measures to ease the burden on smaller charities, in particular in accounting and reporting. The Commission is also engaging with government on a trustee verification process similar to that now operated by Companies House for company directors, although this would take some time to be introduced.   

He also acknowledged the acute challenges facing the sector, citing rising employment costs and the impact of inflation. He commented that, for some charities, “profoundly difficult choices” had to be made to secure their future operation and that timeliness of decision-making was vital. He went on to say that, whilst trustees would be expected to take reasonable steps to safeguard their charity’s reputation, the Commission would not come down hard on trustees simply because their decisions were unpopular or subject to criticism. The Commission would back trustees who have taken decisions in the best interests of the charity, in line with their purposes and following the Commission’s decision-making guidance. 

David Holdsworth has also responded to an open letter calling for the Commission to provide clarity for charities on the operation of single sex services. This follows the Supreme Court’s judgment last year, and recent announcements that transgender women and girls will be excluded from membership of the WI (Women’s Institute) and Girlguiding. 

Statutory guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is still awaited. The response makes it clear that the Charity Commission will not be issuing its own guidance, pre-empting that from the EHRC. However, the Commission has written to Ministers emphasising the importance of publication as soon as possible, setting out some of the serious impacts on the sector and the urgent need for improved clarity and guidance. 

In the interim, the response states that the Commission accepts that it is reasonable for charities either to await the statutory guidance or to take their own legal advice on what changes they may need to make following the Supreme Court case. Where charities wish to change their charitable objects, the Commission would apply the test for object changes introduced under the Charities Act 2022. This requires the new purposes to be ‘similar’ to the original purposes which “could add complexity to such an exercise, depending on each charity’s particular circumstances”.