The Charity Commission has escalated its intervention at a charity that owes £1.54m in unpaid taxes to HMRC and made substantial payments to a firm linked to its chair.
Earlier this month, the commission told Civil Society that it had opened a compliance case into William Blake House, which provides residential care to young adults with learning disabilities.
At the time, the regulator said it was aware of “potential governance concerns” at the charity and would engage with its trustees about these matters.
On 16 February, the regulator opened a statutory inquiry into William Blake House following “regulatory concerns that there is or has been misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity”.
William Blake House, which recorded a total income of £3.70m and expenditure of £3.85m during the year ending September 2024, currently faces a winding-up petition from HMRC.
‘Serious concerns around possible financial mismanagement’
In a statement, the regulator said that financial and governance concerns about William Blake House were first raised in November 2025, prompting it to open a compliance case.
It has now determined that there are “serious concerns around possible financial mismanagement which require a formal investigation”.
This includes the debt to HMRC, late filing of accounts and possible unmanaged conflicts of interest and unauthorised benefit.
The inquiry will look at the extent to which the trustees are complying with their legal duties in respect to the administration, governance and management of the charity.
It will seek to determine whether the charity has appropriate and robust financial controls in place and whether any of its property has been or is at risk.
The inquiry will also examine the management of potential conflicts of interest and connected party transactions and the trustees’ compliance with the charity’s governing document and whether there has been any unauthorised personal benefit.
Residents’ families welcome inquiry
The regulator initially contacted William Blake House after a group of residents’ families shared concerns about the wellbeing of the 22 residents.
The group also expressed concerns that the charity’s public money could be at risk, saying that it no longer trusted its trustees.
A representative from the group then told Civil Society that it was in the process of establishing a not-for-profit company to take over the service.
They said it intends to appoint “a fully independent, appropriately qualified board and put robust oversight in place so this can never be repeated”.
On the regulator escalating its intervention at William Blake House, they said: “We welcome the Charity Commission raising this to a statutory inquiry.
“It’s been a long and painful road discovering what has happened to our relatives’ charity and how perilously close they are to losing their homes.
“We now hope that swift action will be taken by the authorities.”
William Blake House is yet to reply to Civil Society’s requests for comment.
