The Charity Governance Code is a practical tool to help charities and their trustees develop high standards of governance. The Code steering group launched an updated version of the Code in December 2020, following a public consultation that ran from November 2019 to February 2020 and received over 800 responses.

The key findings from the consultation highlighted the need for a refresh of the principles around Diversity and Integrity:

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Principle

• The Diversity Principle has been renamed as the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Principle to reflect the importance of all three element
• The Code recommends four stages of practice for charities in their EDI journey. Boards should:

1. Think about why equality, diversity and inclusion are important for the charity and assess the current level of understanding.
2. Set out plans and targets tailored to the charity and its starting point.
3. Monitor and measure how well the charity is doing.
4. Be transparent and publish the charity’s progress.

Integrity Principle

• The Integrity Principle has been strengthened to emphasise the importance of a charity’s values, ethical decision making and the culture this creates. It reflects the importance of everyone who comes into contact with a charity being treated with dignity and respect and feeling that they are in a safe and supportive environment.
• The Code includes new recommended practice on the right to be safe (safeguarding) that asks trustees to:-

- Understand their safeguarding responsibilities.

- Establish appropriate procedures that are integrated with the charity’s risk management approach.

- Ensure that everyone in contact with the charity knows how to speak up and raise concerns.

Find out more on the Charity Governance Code website which highlights additional resources and practical advice from partners.

The ICAEW Trustee Training Modules are free for members of the Volunteering Community and useful e-learning resource that cover the duties, obligations, operational and strategic considerations of trustees.