William Shawcross, chair of the Charity Commission, has suggested that charity trustees should have to disclose their date of birth and passport number; and that charities which get high levels of public funding should be highlighted on the Charity Commission register.
Shawcross was speaking at yesterday's All Party Parliamentary Group on Civil Society and Volunteering meeting, organised by NCVO.
Shawcross said that the Charity Commission should explore whether charities which got 80 to 90 per cent of their funding from government should be identified on the Charity Commission's online Register of Charities.
“I’m not saying it is bad if they do, but we should highlight it in the interest of transparency,” he said.
During the meeting, Karl Wilding, head of public policy at NCVO, said the charity sector had had a tough time of late in the media, and asked how the Charity Commission could restore public faith.
Shawcross responded: “Do you think it’s been a difficult year. Why?” He then said it must have been as he could see people in the audience nodding.
Wilding responded that there had been a lot of press articles on charity remuneration with poor-quality statistics cited in the reporting; and, tied to the lobbying bill, lots of accusations that charities were party-political. “It’s been a difficult year,” he said.
Shawcross responded that NCVO’s response to the press criticisms on charity remuneration was “absolutely right”. NCVO has convened a working group which will provide guidelines on setting pay levels in charities.
Wilding said that the public mood was influenced by statements made in the press.
Shawcross suggested that the cynicism attaching itself to the charity sector was caused by there being less distinction between the charity and state. “The role of state funding is greater and for the public the distinction becomes blurred.”
But Baroness Pitkeathley, chair of the APPG, disagreed, saying she was sure that the majority of the public did not realise that charities were commissioned to deliver services, and Wilding noted that three-quarters of charities received no statutory funding.
Shawcross was also asked by an audience member how to encourage new trustees who were increasingly put off by the regulatory burden.
Shawcross said he was keen not to put people off, but also said it was hard to get a balance so charities were safe. He suggested that perhaps charity trustees should disclose their date of birth and passport number, but did not make clear to whom.
Also speaking at the event, Conservative MP Peter Bottomley warned charities that campaigning organisations such as 38 Degrees were turning off members of the house. "It's destroying people's ability to listen or to hear," he said. "I've been contacted on a single issue 18 times in 18 months," he complained. "Organisations should watch it."
