Commission declines Times' FoI request for Cup Trust documents

15 Apr 2013 News

The Charity Commission has refused to disclose any of its correspondence with the Cup Trust, prompting Public Accounts Committee chair Margaret Hodge MP to question once again its adequacy as the sector’s regulator.

Margaret Hodge MP, chair of Public Accounts Committee

The Charity Commission has refused to disclose any of its correspondence with the Cup Trust, prompting Public Accounts Committee chair Margaret Hodge MP to question once again its adequacy as the sector’s regulator.

The Times, which broke the story about the Cup Trust’s use of gift aid as a tax scam earlier this year, asked the Charity Commission to release the contents of the 65 letters, phone calls and emails relating to its investigation into the charity between March 2010 and March 2012, under the Freedom of Information Act.

But according to the newspaper, the regulator has refused. Amy Spiller, senior investigator at the Commission, said in her refusal letter that disclosing the information could affect the co-operation of trustees and thus prejudice the Commission’s ability to carry out its regulatory functions.

The refusal comes despite an assurance from the Commission’s chair William Shawcross before the Public Accounts Committee recently, that he hoped to publish many of the documents relating to the case.

Margaret Hodge told The Times at the weekend that she could not understand why the Commission should refuse to reveal the information, adding: “All this does is raise yet further questions about whether they are fit for purpose.”

She said: “Lifting the veil of secrecy has to be the way of ensuring that organisations and individuals use charitable status for proper means and not for tax avoidance.”

The Times has now challenged the FoI response and the Charity Commission has declined to comment further while it reviews this.

The Cup Trust raised £176m from donations during its first two years of operation but distributed just £55,000 to charity. At the same time its donors submitted gift aid claims totalling £46m, though these have not been paid out by HMRC, pending enquiries.

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