The Charity Commission has closed a compliance case it opened last year after the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) removed its chair and her deputy from its board.
Poor governance, safeguarding, reputational risk and financial control concerns were flagged at BACP last year when the charity announced that Natalie Bailey, its then-chair, and Sekinat Adima, her deputy, had been removed from their roles.
That month, the charity apologised after acknowledging governance failures, including an allegation that remuneration and expenses claims by Bailey had “exceeded what was permitted”.
The charity claimed that an independent audit had made similar findings related to Adima.
“[This] undermined expectations of ethical, accountable and responsible leadership,” the BACP board said last August.
Posting on LinkedIn at the time, Bailey said: “I have been removed by the board of governors following a process I believe to have been procedurally flawed, legally contestable, and unduly influenced by internal dynamics and personal interests.”
Bailey added that she was preparing litigation in response to “harm and sustained detriment” she allegedly suffered.
Adima also posted on LinkedIn that no findings were ever made against her, and she would be legally disputing BACP’s claims.
She later wrote: “I have worked diligently as deputy chair, lead EDI trustee and lead safeguarding trustee, contributing to initiatives such as advocating for paid employment and for membership fees not to be increased.”
On Friday, BACP announced that the commission’s case had concluded with the regulator recommending that the charity renew its articles of association – its charitable principles – to ensure risks are identified and managed appropriately.
“A working group had already been convened by trustees for this purpose,” BACP’s board said in its statement.
‘We’ve made clear our expectations’
The commission told Civil Society that it was satisfied with the changes made at BACP and closed its case in January.
A commission spokesperson said: “We’ve made clear our expectations around the charity’s continued progress and have provided advice and guidance to help the charity move forward on a stronger footing.
“We have been assured by steps taken to strengthen the charity’s governance and address concerns raised.”
The spokesperson added that there had been “extensive engagement” with BACP in the last year after it conducted a review of evidence provided by charity trustees.
In its statement, BACP’s board said: “The past few years have been an incredibly challenging time for BACP and for those who support our work.
“It’s important that we continue to learn from this past [but] we are pleased that the commission has confidence in how BACP is now being governed.”
