The Charity Commission has published a major new report into trusteeship which calls for changes in the way boards are recruited and supported. 
The report, Taken on Trust: the Awareness and Effectiveness of Charity Trustees in England and Wales, finds that there are 150,000 fewer trustees in the UK than previously believed. Trustee payment remains relatively rare, with only 2,000 charities – 1.6 per cent – paying trustees.
It has estimated that the value of the time that trustees spend on their role is around £3.5bn per year.
But trustee diversity is poor, with a disproportionate number of old, wealthy white men in trustee roles. Trustee boards have relatively serious skills gaps, and most boards are not accessing external support from any source apart from the Charity Commission website and publications.
However the report also finds that awareness of trustees’ legal status and responsibilities are much better than previously supposed, that trustees do not find their duties as burdensome as the Commission had feared, and that there is no obvious shortage of individuals seeking trustee roles.
The report makes 28 recommendations, which fall into five categories:
• Measures to improve diversity and recruitment
• Changes to how boards are supported
• A digital advice, support and communications strategy
• A need for the Charity Commission to collect additional information
• A call for further longitudinal research to support this report
For further information, visit: www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/charity-commission-publishes-major-report-into-trusteeship.html
To read the report, visit: www.gov.uk/government/publications/taken-on-trust-awareness-and-effectiveness-of-charity-trustees-in-england-and-wales