The Charity Commission opened half the number of statutory inquiries last year compared to the previous year, the regulator’s annual report reveals.
For the year to March 2016 the Commission opened 53 inquiries – down from 103 the previous year. It said this is because it opened fewer inquiries into charities that had repeatedly failed to file accounts, it had opened more compliance cases and is “intervening earlier” in situations.
Of the 53 inquiries 32 related to double defaulting charities. The Commission opened 1,327 compliance cases, an increase of 145 on the previous year. It also used its legal compliance powers slightly more frequently than the previous year, using them 1,073 times – up from 1,062.
The Commission said it had made good progress with its digital transformation programme, which recently saw it make it possible for charities to register online. So far this has led to more applications being filled our correctly, the report said.
It plans to launch an online portal later this year that will enable it to send trustees notifications about updates to guidance. It is looking at how it can ‘tag’ items in charities accounts to make it easier for the public to find information.
Paula Sussex, chief exectutive of the Commission said: “Our annual report tells the story of how we have promoted stronger governance in charities, how we have delivered against our strategic plan and made progress on the NAO’s recommendations. It also explains how we are continuing to digitally transform our work to achieve more with the same budget, improving our services to charities and making them faster.”
The regulator said it continued to make good progress on issues identified by the National Audit Office in 2013 and is expecting a formal review in the coming year. It also made an annual saving of £650,000 by moving its Taunton office and encouraging more home-working.
Removing fundraising charities
The Commission said it had removed three charities after investigating concerns about fundraising.
“In 2015/16 a small number of charities appeared to be established primarily as a fundraising business for the trustees and/or associates to be paid as fundraisers,” the report said. “They made very small grants so they could demonstrate that there was charitable activity but the real beneficiaries appeared to be fundraisers and staff.”
The regulator said its investigation it will be “pursuing more cases this year”.
Board reminded to be mindful of conflicts of interest
Referring to concerns earlier this year about an essay written by one of its board members, Gwythian Prins, the report noted that board members had been reminded that they “must seek the chair’s approval before publishing any material or making any public comment which might be regarded as reflecting on their role the Commission”.
The report also said the “formal consideration will be given to potential conflicts of interest
After investigating Prins’ actions earlier this year Shawcross concluded that “failure by the board member to disclose and seek approval in advance of publication was an inadvertent error”.
