The Charity Commission has today published its inquiry into The National Bullying Helpline, which found that statements to the media by the now-removed charity about bullying at No. 10 Downing Street contravened its confidentiality policies.
A statutory inquiry into the National Bullying Helpline (NBH) was opened by the Commission in February 2010 after complaints of confidentiality breaches.
The complaints were sparked by founder and chief executive Christine Pratt claiming on television that unnamed staff at No. 10 had called the charity's helpline. She made this statement following press accusations that then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown had bullied civil servants.
“The inquiry concluded that comments made on behalf of the charity in response to the media story had the clear potential to undermine public trust and confidence in the charity, the reputation and work of the charity and other help lines,” the Commission said in a statement.
“The inquiry concluded that the statements resulted in a risk that individuals may have been identified, although that risk was not realised.
“The inquiry further concluded that the statements were contrary to the charity’s own code of conduct and its published position on privacy and that the trustees did not take sufficient steps to assert their authority to protect information held by the charity as a result of its operation of the helpline.”
Pratt criticised the Commission’s investigation in June 2010, describing its procedures as “far from fair, open and transparent”.
Conflict of interest
In its inquiry, the sector regulator examined three main issues: whether the allegations breached confidentiality and privacy; the management of conflicts of interest; and the general governance of the charity.
On the issue of conflict of interest, the Commission found that the fact that NBH’s chair was married to the CEO of a company associated with the charity had “the potential to undermine public trust and confidence in the charity”, despite there being no evidence that said company had benefitted financially from the charity.
The inquiry further concluded that NBH’s governance had failed to adhere to its governing document with regards to the appointment of trustees and holding regular meetings, and that “the trustees did not take steps to remedy this”.
The full report can be found on the Commission’s website, here.
Timeline of the inquiry
The inquiry opened on 25 February 2010 and the Commission’s investigations concluded on 19 October 2010. NBH closed in November 2011 due to lack of funding and the resignation of Pratt. The charity said at the time that the pressure of an increased workload and securing funding had affected Pratt’s health.
NBH was registered as a charity on 6 February 2007 and removed from the Register of Charities on 7 November 2011 on the basis that it was no longer operating.
The charity’s income in the financial year ending September 2009 was £11,826 and its expenditure was £16,144.
