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despite being central to jobs and growth across London’ s high streets.”
Opportunity
Fatehi said that it was critical that the domestic environment did not add further instability.“ There is, however, an opportunity for the new administration to act decisively to restore confidence and reset its relationship with business. By delivering the reforms needed to attract investment and increase competitiveness, we can get London growing. When businesses are supported on delivering growth and prosperity in London, we know the whole country benefits.
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investment in skills and infrastructure. Without this, London’ s competitiveness and growth prospects will continue to erode, and we will not deliver national economic growth.” |
Artificial intelligence( AI) is being adopted rapidly across the charity sector, but governance is struggling to keep pace.
A new report, AI in the Charity Sector 2026 by Charity Excellence, highlights a widening gap between the use of AI and the level of trustee oversight. While the 2025 Charity Digital Skills Report found that 76 % of UK charities are already using AI in some form, Charity Commission research showed that only 3 % of trustees believed their charity was using AI, rising to just 8 % among larger organisations.
This suggests AI is often being used by staff and volunteers without formal board awareness or oversight, creating potential risks around data protection, safeguarding and algorithmic bias.
The report assessed charities across three key governance areas: strategy, accountability and AI training. All were rated“ red”, indicating that most organisations have yet to take meaningful action. While operational safeguards are improving, this reflects bottom-up adoption rather than strategic leadership from trustees.
The issue extends beyond compliance. Research published by the University of East Anglia in 2026 warned that unmanaged AI use, particularly AI-generated fundraising content, could undermine public trust. Reflecting this, the 2025 Charity Governance Code
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now explicitly encourages boards to consider AI and wider technology risks as part of good governance.
Trustees do not need to become AI experts, but they do need to understand how AI is being used within their organisation and ensure appropriate oversight is in place.
Practical steps include:
• Reviewing how AI is currently used across the organisation and assessing the associated risks and opportunities.
• Appointing a trustee or committee to oversee AI governance.
• Developing or updating an AI policy covering areas such as data protection, safeguarding and human oversight.
• Providing training so trustees and staff understand both the organisation’ s policy and the risks AI presents.
The governance gap is ultimately a leadership challenge rather than a technology one. Boards that address AI proactively will be better placed to manage risks, embrace opportunities and maintain the trust of donors, beneficiaries and regulators.
If you would like to discuss AI governance or risk oversight within your charity, our team would be happy to help. You can also subscribe to our charity updates for practical guidance and insights on the latest developments.
Hazra Patel, Partner Hazrapatel @ lubbockfine. co. uk
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“ That means easing the cost burden on business, delivering urgent reform of business rates, and setting out a clear strategy to unlock |
A report on the findings from LCCI’ s Q2 economic survey was launched at HSBC’ s Canary Wharf HQ in July
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