A Jewish care charity based in metropolitan Manchester told the Charity Commission it had failed to submit two years’ worth of accounts because trustees had "a collective failure to comply with our own terms of reference".
The Morris Feinmann Homes Trust, which lists its objectives as providing accommodation and care for Jewish refugees and elderly people, failed to submit its accounts for the financial years ending 30 September 2012 and 2013.
Representatives of the charity were contacted by the regulator by telephone on 28 October 2014 and were informed that if the outstanding account information was not provided by 18 November, it would become part of an investigation. After a final warning on 17 November, the charity officially became part of the commission’s inquiry on 18 November.
The accounts for the year ending 30 September 2012 were submitted to the regulator on 22 December 2014, while the outstanding accounts for 2013 were submitted on 3 March 2015. The accounts for 2012 (which were 510 days late) showed that the charity had an income of £3.5m and spending of £3.4m. Account information for the following year 2013, showed that the charity’s income had fallen to just £869,224, but its spending was over £2m.
Representatives of the trust reportedly told the Commission that its accounts had been late due to “a collective failure to comply with our own terms of reference. We saw management accounts and did not ensure that accounts were audited and submitted”.
According to the charity register, the trust currently has 8 trustees and employs 89 people. According to its annual report for September 30 2013, the Morris Feinmann Home – a converted, Victorian era house – requires “heavy upkeep” and in September 2012 the trust sold the land and building to a not-for-profit residential care organisation CLS for £1.1m, a figure “less than book value”.
As a result of the inquiry, £4,466,000 worth of charitable income has been made transparent to the public.
Civil Society News attempted to contact the Morris Feinmann Homes Trust, but its contact details on the charity register appear to be out of date.
