This report into the implementation of the Charities Act 2006 finds the Charity Commission being asked to do too much, with too little. The charitable sector is at the heart of UK society, involving millions of people and £9.3 billion received in donations in 2011/2012. Around 25 new applications for charitable status are received by the Charity Commission every working day. Among the reports findings are: one of the keys tests set by the Charities Act 2006 for determining charitable status-the public benefit test-is critically flawed; the Government should revise the statutory objectives for the Charity Commission, to allow the Commission to focus its limited resources on regulating the sector; the proposal to increase the financial threshold for compulsory registration of a charity with the Charity Commission should be rejected; charities should publish their spending on campaigning and political activity. PASC criticises the way the Charity Commission has interpreted public benefit under the Act. The Committee also considered the impact of face-to-face fundraising, or "chugging"-on the street or on the doorstep-and warns that self-regulation has failed so far to generate the level of public confidence which is essential to maintain the reputation of the charitable sector. The evidence was clear that the regulation of fundraising remains a concern for many members of the public. Two in three people have reported feeling uncomfortable as a result of the fundraising methods used by some charities.

This fully revised and updated new edition, extended to cover the period up to 1914, provides the ultimate introduction to British history between the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the outbreak of the First World War.

"Drawing on a comparative study of hospital records, Charity and the London Hospitals investigates how and why Victorians contributed in order to show that benevolence was rarely amenable to a single form or reason. Whilst charity remained central to the hospitals' raison d'etre, philanthropy's contribution was modified at a financial and administrative level as hospitals shifted from being philanthropic to medical institutions. Why this process occurred and the impact of professionalisation and scientific medicine are assessed."--BOOK JACKET.

The Oxford Companion to Family and Local History is the most authoritative guide available to all things associated with the family and local history of the British Isles. It provides practical and contextual information for anyone enquiring into their English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh origins and for anyone working in genealogical research, or the social history of the British Isles. This fully revised and updated edition contains over 2,000 entries from adoption to World War records. Recommended web links for many entries are accessed and updated via the Family and Local History companion website. This edition provides guidance on how to research your family tree using the internet and details the full range of online resources available. Newly structured for ease of use, thematic articles are followed by the A-Z dictionary and detailed appendices, which includefurther reading. New articles for this edition are: A Guide for Beginners, Links between British and American Families, Black and Asian Family History, and an extended feature on Names. With handy research tips, a full background to the social history of communities and individuals, and an updated appendix listing all national and local record offices with their contact details, this is an essential reference work for anyone wanting advice on how to approach genealogical research, as well as a fascinating read for anyone interested in the past.

Law and Society in England 1750–1950 is an indispensable text for those wishing to study English legal history and to understand the foundations of the modern British state. In this new updated edition the authors explore the complex relationship between legal and social change. They consider the ways in which those in power themselves imagined and initiated reform and the ways in which they were obliged to respond to demands for change from outside the legal and political classes. What emerges is a lively and critical account of the evolution of modern rights and expectations, and an engaging study of the formation of contemporary social, administrative and legal institutions and ideas, and the road that was travelled to create them. The book is divided into eight chapters: Institutions and Ideas; Land; Commerce and Industry; Labour Relations; The Family; Poverty and Education; Accidents; and Crime. This extensively referenced analysis of modern social and legal history will be invaluable to students and teachers of English law, political science, and social history.

Bethlem Hospital, popularly known as "Bedlam", is a unique institution. Now seven hundred and fifty years old, it has been continuously involved in the care of the mentally ill in London since at least the 1400s. As such it has a strong claim to be the oldest foundation in Europe with an unbroken history of sheltering and treating the mentally disturbed. During this time, Bethlem has transcended locality to become not only a national and international institution, but in many ways, a cultural and literary myth. The History of Bethlem is a scholarly history of this key establishment by distinguished authors, including Asa Briggs and Roy Porter. Based upon extensive research of the hospital's archives, the book looks at Bethlem's role within the caring institutions of London and Britain, and provides a long overdue re-evaluation of its place in the history of psychiatry.

Is charity law a 'private law' or a 'public law' subject? This book maps charity law's relationship to the public law-private law divide, arguing that charity law is best understood as a hybrid (public-private) legal tradition that is constantly seeking to maintain an equilibrium between the protection of the autonomy of property-owning individuals to direct and control their wealth, and the furtherance of competing public visions of the good. Of interest to scholars and charity lawyers alike, The Public-Private Nature of Charity Law applies its unique lens both to traditional topics such as the public benefit rule and charity law's rules of standing, and to more contemporary issues such as the co-optation of charitable resources by threatened welfare states and the emergence of social enterprise. 'This book should be read by all who are interested in the respective domains of public and private law. Kathryn Chan brings new light to the divide and reveals the way in which both public and private law inform charity law. The book is subtle, original and rigorous, with an excellent grasp of primary and secondary material.' - Paul Craig, Professor of English Law at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St John's College 'An original and thought-provoking book which takes the somewhat unruly law of charities and, with great insight and clarity, helps it to find its place on the legal map.' - Mary Synge, Associate Professor in Law at the University of Exeter 'Kathryn Chan's impressive monograph breaks new ground in its analytical approach towards charity in the modern world. Her careful study helps us to understand how charitable enterprises partake of the values and concerns of both public and private law, and to evaluate the strength and weaknesses of different approaches to the governance of charitable enterprises.' - Lionel Smith, Sir William C Macdonald Professor of Law, McGill University

Philanthropy, a 'love of humankind', is now thought of as the rich giving to good causes. The Reputation of Philanthropy explores how this came about and asks why praise for philanthropists has always been matched by criticism. Original and accessible, the book will inform thinking about the proper role for philanthropy today.

The 1835 Municipal Reform Act is both a consequence and a continuation of the 1832 Reform Act. By dealing with those “citadels of Torysm” that were the municipal corporations, the Whigs not only wanted to confirm their electoral victory, but also to reform the local system that had been largely criticised for decades. Preceding the reform, a thorough investigation was conducted by a group of twenty commissioners – young liberal or radical lawyers – who visited 285 municipal corporations in England and Wales. After public hearings, they wrote, for each borough, a detailed report which provided an accurate picture of the municipal institutions and their functioning over the preceding decades. In describing the political organisation, the administration, the legal and law enforcement functions, the reports showed that the municipal corporations were areas of privileges. Beyond the overview provided by those in favour of reform of a system at breaking point, the reports, while taking into account local situations, measured the role played in urban management by municipal corporations. After an extensive campaign and several petitions, the parliamentary debate resulted in a compromise bill that aimed at reforming only the main royal boroughs. Small towns, as well as large industrial cities, which had not been granted the royal charter of incorporation, were not affected by the reform. Though it carefully treated certain former institutions, the municipal reform fundamentally altered the way administration was run and marked the end of the urban Ancient Regime in England and in Wales.