Charities should make more effort to defend themselves from criticism in Parliament and the press, William Shawcross, chair of the Charity Commission, told an audience of sector leaders today.
Shawcross said he was "surprised by charities' response to criticism" following a series of attacks over issues such as campaigning and executive pay in the last six months.
Speaking at the Impact Leadership Conference, jointly run by the Charity Finance Group and New Philanthropy Capital, Shawcross said charities had been "taken aback by the idea they might be questioned”, and had felt they "deserved to be treated with kid gloves" because they were "inherently good".
He said the charity sector "has an important duty to help the public understand" why charities are run in the way they are, including explaining their positions on issues such as high pay, campaigning, and "speaking uncomfortable truths to power".
He said that "rather than fearing exposure" charities should welcome the debates as an opportunity to explain how they work.
'Not Commission's role to defend sector'
He said he disagreed with those who said the Charity Commission should speak out in charities' defence on issues such as chief executive pay.
He singled out the Panel on the Independence of the Voluntary Sector, who said in a recent report that the Commission should play a strategic role in “promoting and safeguarding the independence of charities”.
Shawcross said that the Commission was "not a campaigner for charities but a policeman", and that it was "not our role to defend or represent charities".
"Charities are accountable for themselves," he said. "Being accountable means answering difficult questions and responding to public concerns yourself."
Trustees 'see legal duties as a bureaucratic distraction'
Shawcross also said that charitable trustees did not always focus enough on the legal requirements of their position.
"Most charities feel more inspired by the cause," he said. "But too often we come across trustees who see their legal duties as a bureaucratic distraction."
He said these trustees "left their charity at risk of theft, fraud, reputation damage and the abuse of beneficiaries".
