Charity Commission for England and Wales
Charities being investigated
Save the Children
The regulator published the findings of its statutory inquiry last week, nearly two years after opening the investigation. But it has not taken any formal regulatory action against the charity.
The Commission said the charity should have been more open with the regulator, its own trustees and the public when complaints were raised in 2012 and 2015, and when they were subsequently made public in 2018. Save the Children said it accepts the findings and has apologised.
Advice for charities
The Charity Commission has said it sees too many examples of “disputes, internal factions and divisions” in charities, in a report about the complaints it has received. From April to June 2019, the Commission received 600 complaints and reports about charities which fell below the threshold for direct regulatory action. Based on analysis of more than 200 of these, the report identifies trends and offers advice to charities based on its findings.
Other news
Baroness Stowell, chair of the Charity Commission, and Helen Stephenson, chief executive, will be questioned by MPs on 18 March about the regulator's work.
It will be the first time that the regulator has given evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee since 2018.
MPs have invited evidence from organisations and public. Submissions can be made through Parliament's website.
OSCR, the Scottish Charity Regulator
Accounting webinar
OSCR has published a new webinar looking at external scrutiny of charity accounts. It is presented by Laura Anderson, head of professional advice and intelligence, and is the fourth in the regulator’s series on charity accounting.
Storytelling
The Scottish regulator has also released a video about how charities can use reporting to showcase their work.
Urging charities to publish their annual reports
OSCR has appealed to charities to make their annual reports and accounts easily available.
Currently legislation in Scotland prevents the regulator from publishing accounts in full, but the regulator wants charities to do because “transparency is an important driver for public trust”.
Fundraising Regulator
Direct mail overtook door-to-door as the most-complained-about method of fundraising among the biggest charities in 2018-19, a report from regulator has found. The Fundraising Regulator published its annual Complaints Report, looking at complaints received both by the regulator itself and by 58 charities that spend more than £5m a year on fundraising.
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