Bernard Jenkin, chair of the Public Administration Select Committee, has said that charity bosses will be called before the committee in the autumn, warning that MPs are likely to recommend fresh legislation to regulate fundraising.
Jenkin was speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today in the wake of the Daily Mail’s undercover investigation into fundraising agency GoGen, which found that telephone fundraisers were told to pressure vulnerable people with illnesses like dementia and of contacting people who have signed up to the Telephone Preference Service.
PASC is the parliamentary select committee with overall responsiblity for charity regulation.
He said that the fundraising practices exposed by the Mail were “vile and disgusting” and said his committee would open an inquiry in the autumn but that the government may act “of its own volition” before then.
When the PASC last looked at the issue of charities using commercial companies for fundraising in 2013 he said it was “causing concern”.
“They’re obviously in it for profit and not for the values of the charities and the public was unhappy about it. We said you’re in the last chance saloon – if you don’t want the government to regulate charitable fundraising by statute get your act together,” he said.
Jenkin added that he was “very disappointed” by what had been uncovered by the Daily Mail and warned that unless the sector takes action and sets up “a serious self-regulatory organisation that is going to have teeth” then “the government will have to bring forward legislation”.
“Charities have really got to ask themselves how have we allowed this to happen what the values that a charity is meant to represent,” he said. “They have either turned a blind eye to what is happening or they’re wilfully allowing this to happen.”
GoGen has denied many of the allegations. The Information Commissioner's Office has said it will investigate to see whether there are any breaches of data protection law.
Cancer Research UK suspends work with GoGen
Cancer Research UK has become the second high-profile client of GoGen’s to suspend its work with the agency.
Harpal Kumar, chief executive of the charity sent an email to supporters to say that supporter data would not be shared and linking to its supporter promise.
It said: “The press today made allegations against an agency called GoGen. These allegations are about a service they don’t provide to us, but we have suspended activity with them just as we suspended our contract with another agency, ‘Listen’, in light of allegations made against them. We expect the highest standards of our suppliers and take any allegations very seriously.”
Yesterday Oxfam suspended its work with GoGen.
Save the Children has today unveiled a supporter promise, which includes a promise not to cold call or share supporters’ details.
