Knowledge Hub

Following the UK Supreme Court's ruling in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers, some charities are feeling pressure to make immediate and costly changes to their premises. In this short piece, CFG's co-CEO, Clare Mills, uses the example of two schools' approaches to safeguarding to make the case for stepping back before making the decision to spend.

The UK Supreme Court's April 2025 ruling in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers has prompted questions across the voluntary sector about what, if anything, organisations need to do in response. This short briefing helps charities to navigate the implications pf the ruling relating to premises and facilities.

This short guide from CFG outlines the types of limits on cash deposits that charities may encounter, and what steps trustees or finance teams can take if they expect to deposit large amounts of cash.

Sayer Vincent's Joanna Pittman provides a technical article focusing on setting out a practical approach to identifying exchange and non-exchange transactions. Joanna explains the relevant recognition criteria under the new SORP, and outlining how income should be recognised in each case to ensure compliance.

UHY's Sean Glancy and Lisa Burnside explain why the complexity of VAT deserves trustee attention and not some common VAT pitfalls that arise. They then highlight some practical examples which provide actionable strategies that trustees and finance teams can use to embed good governance and VAT compliance culture within their teams.

According to CFG and LCP, more than half of charities could save on NI contributions by implementing or expanding salary sacrifice. Simon Jackson from LCP shares the main findings of the first Defined Contributions pension scheme survey.

At a time when charities and businesses are under intense pressure, it is easy to lose sight of tangible wins amid mounting challenges. However, a rare and genuinely mutually beneficial policy reform is now on the horizon! 

For many charity leaders, VAT is something that happens in the background; a complex administrative requirement we assume is handled correctly until, suddenly, it isn't.

Psychological safety is not a ‘nice to have’. It is the foundation of how well any team performs, communicates, and recovers from difficulty. When it is present, people are more engaged, more honest, and more committed. When it is absent, problems are hidden until they escalate, mistakes go unreported, and people disengage quietly — or leave.

In the last policy update I remarked how the start of 2026 would likely be defined by uncertainty. Not a unique hypothesis, though one that has been proven intimidatingly correct so far.

As expected, the Chancellor’s Spring Statement did not introduce any new policy measures, sticking to her promise to only hold one fiscal event per year. The announcement, therefore, does not substantively change the financial situation for charities.

With Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges set to rise by around 60%, many organisations are understandably concerned about what this means for their electricity costs as this typically accounts for 5–10% of a customer’s bill. In light of these increases, Utility Aid’s Stephanie Steele breaks down how energy bills are structured and explains the difference between commodity and non-commodity charges, so charities can better understand where their money is going and why costs can rise even when usage stays the same.