Two local authorities that are both trustees of multiple charities in breach of their financial reporting requirements have vowed to resolve the issues.
In its annual report, published earlier this month, the Charity Commission said two councils had not filed more than 10 of their charities’ financial details for two years or more.
The commission has now told Civil Society that the authorities in breach are Bristol City Council and Durham County Council.
Both authorities told Civil Society that they were working to address the issue with the regulator.
In its report, the commission stated that 43 other councils have all their charities in default and said it planned to take action, including one-to-one engagement with local authorities that continue to have charities in default.
“Where appropriate and proportionate, regulatory action will be taken,” the commission stated.
However, the commission reported a drop from 130 local authorities with 404 charities in default of their financial reporting obligations in November 2024, to 87 councils with 186 charities as of December 2025.
Inherited trusteeships
Durham council said most of its charity trusteeships with overdue documents dated back to the 1960s, including some inherited from former district councils.
“Many of these arrangements have become dormant in nature, with no financial incomings or outgoings,” said the authority’s corporate finance and commercial services head, Rob Davisworth.
“We are actively working to resolve this matter and will work with the Charity Commission to bring these accounting arrangements up to date.
“We will also look to identify more permanent arrangements for the management of these trusteeships.”
Meanwhile, a Bristol City Council spokesperson said that the problems identified were due to administrative errors.
“Officers are in communication with the Charity Commission to correct this issue and ensure that our financial reporting responsibilities are met for all charities we are responsible for,” they said.
“We are reviewing our processes to reduce the risk of failing to meet our financial governance responsibilities in future.”
