Objectives:
The main objective of this Act is to reduce administrative burdens, costs, and bureaucracy for charities. It does so by increasing trustees’ authority to make decisions about property in their possession, and bypassing the need to obtain the Charity Commission’s authority for all decisions.
Restitution Measures:
Sections 15 and 16 of the Charities Act 2022 enable charity trustees to make small ex gratia payments—where a moral obligation exists—without seeking prior Charity Commission approval. It sets thresholds for “small” payments based on gross income, ranging from £1,000 to £20,000, simplifying procedures. This means that non-national museum charities can make “payments” to communities or countries of origin, in the form of returning material heritage that falls within this scope of financial value, without seeking the consent of the Commission.
Framework Limitations:
The Act is limited to non-national museums, and does not apply to public museums, where most of the United Kingdom’s colonial loot is held.
