Charities are part of British life. They range from small groups meeting local needs with few resources to the well-known major charities with budgets of millions.

Whatever their size or purpose, an essential requirement of all charities is that they operate for the public benefit and independently of government or commercial interests. Our job is to ensure this happens.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales is established by law as the regulator and registrar of charities in England and Wales. Our aim is to provide the best possible regulation of these charities in order to increase charities’ efficiency and effectiveness and public confidence and trust in them.

Our publication The Charity Commission and Regulation describes in more detail our values and how we operate as a regulator. We explain below our main activities.