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<p>The Government has taken a number of steps to improve public trust and confidence
in charities in England and Wales</p><p> </p><p>The Charities (Protection and Social
Investment) Act 2016 gives the Charity Commission new and enhanced powers to tackle
serious abuses of charitable status. The Charity Commission is already taking a more
robust approach to tackling abuse and mismanagement and has also simplified and updated
guidance for trustees to remind them of their duties.</p><p>Following scandals in
2015 that highlighted unacceptable charitable fundraising practices, a new Fundraising
Regulator has been established. Chaired by Lord Grade of Yarmouth, this independent
regulator is tasked to set high standards of fundraising practice and to deal with
public complaints when these have been breached. It has a range of sanctions and can
refer serious noncompliance or abuse to the relevant statutory regulator.The Fundraising
Regulator will also develop a Fundraising Preference Service to enable people who
feel inundated with targeted fundraising requests to put a stop to them if they wish.</p><p>The
Office for Civil Society and Innovation is further working with charities to explore
the challenges facing the leadership of the voluntary and community sector. One of
the four themes that has been identified as part of this work is 'responding to decline
in trust and confidence'. A dedicated working group has been convened to explore this
issue and identify potential solutions.</p>
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