Charity Commission for England and Wales
www.charity-commission.gov.uk

Home Office  [remit includes the police]  - see the Government - central section

Licensing departments (local councils)
[responsible for licensing charitable collections under the 1939 Act (except in London)]

Office of Fair Trading (OFT)  [part of BIS]
www.oft.gov.uk

Police

Police - Metropolitan Police  [answerable to Home Office and GLA]
[responsible for licensing charitable collections in London (excluding the City of London) under the 1939 Act]

Police - City of London Police
[responsible for licensing charitable collections in the City of London under the 1939 Act]

Trading standards departments (local councils) (TSDs) - see the Consumer issues section

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
www.asa.org.uk

Cabinet Office
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Responsible for charity policy

Charity Commission for England and Wales
www.charity-commission.gov.uk

Maintains the official register of charities (including a searchable online database).
For more details see the Charities page

Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)
www.oscr.org.uk

The Scottish equivalent of the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
Statutory body. Part of the Scottish Executive Development Department.
Website includes a searchable list of Scottish charities.

Office of the Third Sector (OTS)  [part of the Cabinet Office] - Abolished May 2010
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector

Created May 2006.
Took over the Home Office's Active Communities Division (ACD).
"...the OTS leads work across government to support the environment for a thriving third sector (voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals)..."

Charities Advisory Trust
www.charitiesadvisorytrust.co.uk

Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)
www.cafonline.org

Helps voluntary sector organisations - providing advice, research etc, especially on financial matters.

'Charity Choice UK: the Encyclopaedia of Charities'
www.charitychoice.co.uk

Publisher: Wilmington Business Information Ltd: London.
Details of around 8,000 charities, divided into 35 or so categories.
Annual printed directory, c800 pages.  Also available on the Internet (fully searchable).

Charity Donation Guide
www.charity-donation-guide.co.uk

"Bringing you the latest news and resources from around the world"
News and resources on charities.  Classified. Includes advertisements.

CharityFacts
www.charityfacts.org

"Charityfacts is an initiative of Adrian Sargeant of Bristol Business School (the UK's only Professor of Nonprofit Marketing and Fundraising)."

Charity Law Association (CLA)
www.charitylawassociation.org.uk

Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB)
www.frsb.org.uk

Institute of Fundraising (IoF)
www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk

National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk

Umbrella organisation for charities.  Champions the cause of the voluntary sector in England.
Activities: Campaigning, lobbying, co-ordination, research, advice, publishing, training etc.
Publishes The Voluntary Agencies Directory (see below).

Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA)
www.pfra.org.uk

Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO)

'Voluntary Agencies Directory' (VAD)

Annual printed directory, published by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO): London.  Annual, about 500 pages.
A-Z listing of about 2,500 charities - addresses, telephone numbers, aims etc.  Indexed.

Cards for Good Causes
www.cardsforcharity.co.uk

Charities Advisory Trust
www.charitiesadvisorytrust.org.uk

Runs CARD AID shops and supplies cards to charities through a non-profit scheme.
Publishes The Charity Shops Handbook. *

Charity Christmas Card Council (4C)
www.charitycards.org

Designs and publishes cards at low cost for member charities, markets them, promotes them etc.

Charities Advisory Trust  [publishes The Charity Shops Handbook]
www.charitiesadvisorytrust.co.uk

Charity Retail Association (CRA)
[for more details see the Charity Retail Association page]
www.charityretail.org.uk

'Charity Shops Handbook'

Around 200 pages. Published by the Charities Advisory Trust.
The book deals with trading issues (staffing, law etc) and is aimed mainly at charities - further details are on the Trust's website.*

Irish Charity Shops Association (ICSA)   [Eire]
www.icsa.ie

'Miller's Price Guides'

Publisher: Reed. Annual.
A series of printed reference books, including volumes on antiques, collectables and pictures.
Widely used by charity shops to identify and price more valuable items.

Charity shops - Run by Age UK, Oxfam, RSPCA, Scope, Sue Ryder etc.
Charities running shops will be pleased to give you details of their shops in your area. Also look at their websites.

Most individual charity shops are listed in BT telephone directories.

Most editions of Yellow Pages (www.yell.com) and Thomson Local Directories (www.thomsonlocal.com) have sections headed "Charities and voluntary organisations" and "Charity shops", giving addresses and telephone numbers.

AbilityNet
www.abilitynet.org.uk

National charity helping disabled people use computers and the Internet.
Includes information on RSI, ergonomics, eyesight issues, good website design.
Much of the website is relevant to all users.

Adobe  [eg Acrobat PDF reader software - free]
www.adobe.com

Microsoft  [eg MS Word for Windows document viewer software - free]  
www.microsoft.com

Nominet UK`
www.nominet.org.uk

Official registry for .uk web addresses (=domain names)

Tom's Hardware
www.tomshardware.com

W3C
www.w3.org

Official website of the World Wide Web Consortium - a not-for-profit organisation.
Establishes the standards for web design - HTML, XML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) etc]

W3Schools
www.w3schools.com

Free information on web design and the Internet.  Includes excellent interactive tutorials.

Web Design Group (WDG)
http://htmlhelp.com

On HTML- and CSS-related topics.  Includes web authoring reference. High quality, respected.

Consumer Direct
www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

Help and advice for British consumers.
Website and telephone helpline - tel: 08454 04 05 06
Their remit includes scams.  The organisation is funded by BIS

Consumer Focus
www.consumerfocus.org.uk

Launched 1 October 2008.
Formed from the merger of the National Consumer Council (NCC), energywatch and Postwatch

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
www.dti.gov.uk

In June 2007, DTI became: Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR)
In June 2009, BERR became: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)

National Consumer Council (NCC)
www.ncc.org.uk

Independent public body. Most of its funding came from the DTI.
Now part of Consumer Focus (Oct 2008+)

Office of Fair Trading (OFT)  [part of BIS]
www.oft.gov.uk

Trading standards departments (local councils) (TSDs) - see the Government - local section

BBC - Watchdog
www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog

BBC1 TV weekly consumer programme  Tel: 020 8535 1000
See also:
Watchdog - BBC1 TV - Feature on bogus charity collections

BBC - You and Yours
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/

BBC Radio 4 consumer programme (weekdays 12:04-12:57pm).
Tel (free): 0800 044 044 (Radio 4 Action Line)

Money Saving Expert (MSE)
www.moneysavingexpert.com

By Martin Lewis (journalist/broadcaster/financial advisor)
Independent website and free email newsletter. High quality, website updated daily.
Martin also presents "It pays to watch" on Channel 5

Plain English Campaign (PEC)
www.plainenglish.co.uk

Plain Language Commission (PLC)
www.clearest.co.uk

Rip-Off Britain
www.rip-off.co.uk

Trading Standards Central
www.tradingstandards.gov.uk

"A one-stop shop for consumer protection information in the UK. The site is supported and maintained by TSI, the Trading Standards Institute."
Website includes a good 'useful links' page

Trading Standards Institute (TSI)
www.tsi.org.uk

Professional body for trading standards officers

Which? (formerly called the Consumers' Association until 2004)
www.which.co.uk

A charity. Researches, campaigns etc on consumer matters, including scams.
Publishes Which? magazine monthly (available in larger public libraries).
Also publishes other magazines and a wide range of books.

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)  (formerly the Data Protection Registrar)
www.ico.gov.uk

Tel: 0303 123 1113

Ministry of Justice
(formerly the Lord Chancellor's Department (LCD)
then the Dept for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) until 9 May 2007)
www.justice.gov.uk

The government department responsible for FoI/open government policy.
Eg see Code of Practice on Access to Government Information on their website.

Campaign for Freedom of Information (CFOI)  [pressure group]
www.cfoi.org.uk

Liberty - National Council for Civil Liberties - NCCL
www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk

Campaigning pressure group (founded 1934)

Acts of Parliament

General :

• Human Rights Act 1998

Freedom of information :

• Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985
• Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FoIA)

Data protection :

• Data Protection Act 1998 (the DPA)

Directgov
www.direct.gov.uk

Official portal/gateway site, providing links to almost all central government and local government organisations.

'Civil Service Yearbook'
Annual. Official printed directory of central government - departments, contact details etc.

Companies House  [part of BIS.  Maintains the official register of companies]
www.companies-house.gov.uk

Registers companies and monitors them.
Website has a searchable index of company names and addresses, registered numbers etc.

Some charities are also registered as companies.
Some charities have set up wholly-owned companies to carry out their trading activities eg charity shops, Christmas cards.

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) - see the Law section

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) - see the Re-use and recycling section

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
Now called BIS - see the Consumer issues section

Environment Agency (EA) - see the Re-use and recycling section

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
www.hmrc.gov.uk

Eg see Open Government  leaflet IR141 (free)

Home Office  [remit includes the police]
www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) - see the Freedom of information / data protection section

Ministry of Justice - see the Law section

National Audit Office (NAO) - see the Ombudsmen section

Office of Fair Trading (OFT)  [part of BIS] - see the Consumer issues section

Office of Public Sector Information / Her Majesty's Stationery Office (OPSI)
(formerly Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO))
www.opsi.gov.uk

Part of the Cabinet Office.  The website includes the full text of recent Acts of Parliament and Regulations.

The Stationery Office (TSO)
www.tso.co.uk

TSO is the official print publisher for central government and Parliament.
TSO was part of HMSO, but is now a commercial publishing company.
It's not part of government now, but we've placed it near to OPSI / HMSO for easy reference.
TSO publishes the printed versions of Acts and Regulations.

The United Kingdom Parliament
www.parliament.uk

Official website for the House of Commons and the House of Lords

Tagish's Directory of Government Websites
www.tagish.co.uk

Run by Tagish Ltd (a software development and consultancy firm specialising in government clients).
A web-based directory. Includes central government, local government, parish/town councils

= County councils, district councils, borough councils, city councils, London Boroughs etc

Directgov  [official portal site covering central government and local government]
www.direct.gov.uk

Communities and Local Government (DCLG) [Whitehall department, formerly ODPM]
www.communities.gov.uk

Institute of Licensing (IoL)  [professional body]
(formerly called the Local Government Licensing Forum - LGLF)
www.instituteoflicensing.org

Institute of Trading Standards Administration (ITSA)
[professional body for trading standards officers]

Now called the Trading Standards Institute (TSI)

LACORS - Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services
www.lacors.gov.uk

Now called 'Local Government Regulation'

Local Government Association (LGA)
www.lga.gov.uk

Umbrella organisation representing county councils and district/borough councils.
Based in Central London.

Local Government Information Unit (LGIU)
www.lgiu.gov.uk

Local Government Regulation (formerly called LACORS) *
www.lacors.gov.uk

'Municipal Yearbook'

Printed directory, published annually.  Approx 2,000 pages.
Authoritative directory of local authorities and related organisations.
Who does what, where.  Includes addresses, telephone numbers etc.

Tagish's Directory of Government Websites - see the Government - central section

Trading Standards Institute (TSI)  [professional body for trading standards officers]
www.tradingstandards.gov.uk

Commission for Local Administration in England (the Local Government Ombudsman)

Coverage includes council licensing departments and trading standards departments.

National Audit Office (NAO)
www.nao.org.uk

Scrutinises the efficiency and probity of government

Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (OPCA) (the Parliamentary Ombudsman)
www.ombudsman.org.uk

Deals with complaints about central government - eg Home Office, Office of Fair Trading, Charity Commission.  Note: Complaints must be referred by a Member of Parliament (MP).

British and Irish Ombudsman Association (BIOA)
www.bioa.org.uk

An umbrella body.  They will give advice on which ombudsmen to contact and the procedures that need to be followed. Website has a Useful links page and bibliography

Citizens Advice Bureaux (CABs) :

• Advice Guide  [by NACAB]
  www.adviceguide.org.uk
• Citizens Advice Bureaux (CABs)
  There are CAB offices in most towns. They provide unbiased, free information and confidential advice to the public on consumer matters, law etc.
• Citizens Advice - National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB)
  www.nacab.org.uk

Libraries

'Councils, Committees and Boards' (CCB)

Printed directory by CBD Research Ltd.  Hardback, approx 750 pages.
High quality, comprehensively indexed.
Note - The word "councils" in the title refers to national bodies (eg the National Consumer Council) rather than local government councils.

'Directory of British Associations' (DBA)

Printed directory by CBD Research Ltd.  Hardback, approx 750 pages.
Authoritative, high quality, comprehensively indexed.
A new edition is published every couple of years.

Wikipedia
www.wikipedia.org

Huge online international encyclopedia.
Free, not-for-profit, collaborative.
2.6 million articles in English.

www.192.com

The website provides free searches for telephone numbers.  Also allows searching of the edited Electoral Roll.

British Telecom (BT)
www.bt.com

The website provides free searches for telephone numbers.

Thomson Local
www.thomsonlocal.com

Yellow Pages
www.yell.com

UK Directory
www.ukdirectory.co.uk

Printed directory of websites. UK, was updated 2-3 times a year.  Around £3.99.
"Find, not search ... 22,000 UK websites categorised like a telephone directory."
Publication of the hardcopy version has been discontinued.  However a modified version is available online.

Note - searching the Net: Useful keywords include :

• charity, charities, charitable, charity shops, charity clothing collections, clothing collectors, charitybags, charity bags, house-to-house, house to house, door-to-door, door to door, re-use, recycling, donations, cons, scams, bogus, fraud, misleading, fake

Search engines - eg Alta Vista, Ask [Jeeves], Bing, Excite, Google, Lycos, Yahoo

Google
www.google.co.uk

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)  [legal service, acts for the police]
www.cps.gov.uk

Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) (An executive agency of the Ministry of Justice)
www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk

Home Office  [remit includes the police]
www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) (formerly the Lord Chancellor's Department (LCD))
www.justice.gov.uk

Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) / Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO)
www.opsi.gov.uk

"...responsible for the publication of legislation and the management of Crown copyright. It also provides access to a wide range legislation including "as enacted" legislation and SLD revised legislation."

Eg Acts (1988+) and statutory instruments eg Regulations (1987+) - online

Police

The Stationery Office (TSO)  (formerly part of HMSO) - a privatised company
www.tso.co.uk

Eg sells printed Acts and Regulations

The UK Statute Law Database (SLD) (Ministry of Justice)
www.statutelaw.gov.uk

- Acts including revisions (eg House to House Collections Act 1939)
- Secondary legislation (eg Regulations) - 1991+, not revised.
"...the official revised version of the primary legislation of the UK made available online."

British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII)
www.bailii.org

"Access to Freely Available British and Irish Public Legal Information"
eg case law

Charity Law Association (CLA)
www.charitylawassociation.org.uk

Institute of Licensing (IoL)  [professional body]
www.instituteoflicensing.org

LACORS - Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services
www.lacors.gov.uk

Now known as "Local Government Regulation"

Law Society for England and Wales  [professional body for solicitors]
www.lawsociety.org.uk

Local Government Regulation (formerly called LACORS)
www.lacors.gov.uk

Books produced by Which? (formerly called the Consumers' Association)

'Citizens Advice Guide to Your Rights'
Citizens Advice Bureau/Penguin, approx 700 pages.

'Citizens Advice Handbook: Practical, Independent Advice'
Citizens Advice Bureau/Penguin, approx 650 pages.

'Know your rights: a comprehensive guide to the law and your entitlements'
Reader's Digest, approx 750 pages, hardback.  Arranged A-Z by topic.

'The Daily Telegraph everyday law: the practical guide to how the law affects you'
By Aviva Golden.  HarperCollins, approx 450 pages.

'The new Penguin guide to the law: your rights and the law explained'
Approx 1,000 pages.

'Smith and Keenan's English law'
By Denis Keenan.  FT/Pitman, approx 850 pages.  Widely used academic text for students.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
www.defra.gov.uk

Remit includes re-use/recycling (eg WEEE) and waste disposal

Environment Agency (EA)
www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Answers to DEFRA.  Remit includes re-use/recycling and waste disposal.

www.biffaward.org

ENCAMS (Environmental Campaigns)  [including recycling]
www.encams.org

Runs various campaigns such as "Keep Britain Tidy"

Friends of the Earth (FoE)
www.foe.co.uk

Pressure group.  Campaigns for the protection of the environment.
Encourages re-use/recycling, eg clothes, footwear - for instance via charity shops.
Includes over 250 local groups.

letsrecycle.com
www.letsrecycle.com

Includes: News, events, jobs, materials, directory, legislation, prices.
Head office in London SE1

Oakdene Hollins Ltd (OHL) - Research & consulting
www.oakdenehollins.co.uk

Includes free, downloadable copies of their government-funded research reports on maximising reuse and recycling of UK clothing and textiles. The reports are detailed, with useful statistics.  They include analysis of house-to-house collections.  Excellent.

Planet Pals (PP)
www.planetpals.com

A high-quality US environmental website, designed for children and schools.
 

Recycle More
www.recycle-more.co.uk

A good UK website on recycling.  Featured on ITV's The Web Review.

RecycleNow
www.recyclenow.com

Website produced by WRAP (see below).
Attractive design, offers practical advice, aimed at consumers

Recycled Products  [for more details see the Re-use and recycling page]
www.recycledproducts.org.uk

RecyclingExpert
www.recyclingexpert.co.uk

Compiled by the team that produces www.SafeFromScams.co.uk

Rethink Rubbish  [for more details see the Re-use and recycling page]
www.rethinkrubbish.com

Textile Recycling Association (TRA)
www.textile-recycling.org.uk

The UK trade body for textile recycling.  Their members include three charities (British Heart Foundation, Oxfam and Scope).  Operates the Recyclatex scheme

Wastewatch
www.wastewatch.org.uk

WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Plan)
www.wrap.org.uk

"WRAP helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change."
Also produces the RecycleNow website