As the squeeze tightens on the State’s purse strings, we thought that the day of the UK Chancellor’s Spending Review was a good day to smile sweetly and say that in a world where charities almost certainly have insufficient resources to pick up the burden of much that was once provided by the State, the Government has at least proposed an amendment to the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, which if passed by both Houses of Parliament, will come into effect on 6th April 2016 and make it easier to raise money for good causes.

Currently the rules prevent raffles or lotteries for good causes being held at a business or commercial event. The new rules would lift this restriction, so that it would be possible at a business kick off meeting or any other kind of non-charity event, to fund raise for a charity or other “good cause”. As is the case currently, all money raised would need to go to the relevant good cause subject to a £100 deduction for expenses.

It is also proposed to allow work/residents’ and private society lotteries to be used to raise money for any purpose other than private gain. Currently the rules provide that private societies can only raise money for their own society.

If it all feels a bit like cleaning up after an earthquake with a dustpan and brush, in the words of a famous supermarket chain, “Every little helps”.