The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into a young people’s charity over concerns about conflicts of interest and about how it managed its property. 

The regulator has used its powers to prevent the charity from selling its property during the investigation. 

The 2014 annual accounts show that the charity paid its company secretary, Kathleen Lancaster, and her husband over £47,000 for services. Kathleen Lancaster is also a former trustee of the charity. Its total income for the year was £419,290, with expenditure of £348,710. 

According to a BBC report the charity was founded by Luke Lancaster in 2007 when he was 12 to provide alternative courses for young people struggling to cope in mainstream schools.

The accounts state that: “The fees chargeable revolve around the specialist teaching and delivery and planning of the courses as well as the guardianship and mentoring of Luke (founder of Young Pioneers), the continued growth of the charity and the delivery of courses to young people in need.”

The Commission said it has been engaging with the charity since 2011 and is concerned that it has not acted on previous advice around conflicts of interest. 
 
The regulator said it is “satisfied that the trustees have exercised sufficient control and management of the charity’s property including its funds and that the charity may be operating without the required number of trustees which raises concerns regarding the validity of the trustees’ decisions. The trustees do not appear able, or willing to, manage the charity’s resources responsibly and to act in the best interest of the charity.” 

Young Pioneers does not have any contact details on the Commission’s site, website is “under construction” and its social media accounts have not been active for some time.