The Air Ambulance Service is reviewing the roles of the board and its leadership after the chief executive and chair agreed a loan of £27,000 to a senior employee without informing the rest of the trustee board.

This morning the Charity Commission published a case report into TAAS, an £11m charity with 129 members of staff, after looking into concerns about how the charity had been run.

The Commission received a number of complaints about the charity, which detailed allegations about the loss of £111,000 as the result of a failed fundraising event in 2012 and the £27,000 loan to a senior member of staff. 

It opened a compliance case and concluded that “trustees did not exercise sufficient controls over the chief executive in relation to the two incidents”.

TAAS has agreed to implement an action plan. This includes reviewing the recruitment and induction for new trustees, reviewing the written role descriptions for the chief executive, senior members of staff and trustees, as well updating and reviewing a number of its policies and procdures.

Failed fundraising event

The Commission found that the fundraising event was “poorly planned and failed to apply proper project management methodology” and that the charity’s inadequate process “amounted to a serious failure on the part of the trustees”.

A spokesman for TAAS said: “In 2012, TAAS purchased seats to resell for the London premiere of The Bodyguard, a method of fundraising used by other UK charities. Unfortunately the event was not commercially successful due to poorer than anticipated ticket sales.

“2012 was a record year for fundraising for TAAS and this was the only event not to make a profit in its own right, but it did serve as a useful profile-raising exercise and an opportunity to attract new supporters and volunteers on a long-term basis.

“TAAS now has in place an experienced fundraising team and robust strategy to ensure each event is profitable in its own right.

Loan to staff member

The Commission also found that the loan of £27,000 was “put in place by the CEO and the chair, and the wider board was only informed after the event”.

According to the charity it phoned the Commission’s helpline, but the Commission said that its helpline provides “generic advice” and that in this case the charity should have written to the regulator seeking a “formal view”.

In a statement the charity said: “The loan referred to in the report was a one-off and made to a valuable employee facing unforeseen personal circumstances. It was interest-bearing and came with a guarantor – so there was no financial risk to the charity – and was put in place by the chair of trustees, CEO and finance director with the approval of the finance committee. Advice was also sought from the Charity Commission’s helpline.

“We have worked closely with the Charity Commission to ensure governance is tightened and all employees and trustees are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities. The focus of TAAS remains on ensuring it is run as efficiently as possible to fund the growing demand for our life-saving services.”