The final provisions of the Charities Act 2022 came into force on 27 November 2025 and further guidance has been published by the Charity Commission on how charities can make a moral, or ‘ex gratia’, payment to support trustees.
This is the final instalment and last statutory instrument to implement the provisions of the Act. The gov.uk website states that the final changes will enable:
- Trustees to delegate decision-making authority for moral payments to other people at the charity, for example a member of staff or a trustee sub-committee.
- Charities to make certain moral payments without Commission authority.
Sections 15 and 16 of the act cover ex gratia payments. The implementation was delayed as questions were raised about the impact of these provisions on certain institutions, namely museums and galleries with extensive and historic collections.
As a result, these sections are being commenced with the exception of certain statutory institutions, including relevant museums and galleries, which have existing legislation that prevents them from disposing of items from their collections except in very limited circumstances.
This list of institutions is set out in the statutory instrument and the website confirms that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has contacted those charities falling within scope of this exclusion.
The limits are in relation to the charity’s income in the last financial year and were not changed following the DCMS consultation on charity thresholds.
Next steps
Please get in contact with us if you’d like to know how these changes might impact your charity.
Please note that this content is not intended to give specific technical advice. It is designed to highlight some of the key changes rather than provide an exhaustive explanation of the topics. Professional advice should always be sought before action is either taken or refrained from as a result of information contained herein.
