Transgender charity Mermaids under investigation – BBC News
‘Transgender youth support charity Mermaids is under investigation by The Charity Commission over safeguarding concerns.’
BBC News, 29th September 2022
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: Charity Commission
Judge to consider trans charity’s appeal to strip LGB Alliance of legal status – The Guardian
‘A judge will consider an appeal by the trans rights charity Mermaids on Friday against the Charity Commission’s decision to award charitable status to the new gay rights organisation LGB Alliance. It is understood to be the first time one charity has attempted to strip legal status from another.’
The Guardian, 9th September 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
Charity Commission opens compliance case into donor to the Prince’s Trust – The Guardian
‘The Charity Commission has opened a compliance case into one of the key donors to Prince Charles’s charity after it emerged it had been funded by unsecured loans.’
The Guardian, 7th August 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
Charitable trusts environmental investment ruling could have wider repercussions – OUT-LAW.com
‘A decision by the High Court of England and Wales to allow the trustees of two charitable trusts to exclude investments on the grounds that they conflict with their environmental values could have wider impacts for other organisations involved in investment activity, according to two legal experts.’
OUT-LAW.com, 12th May 2022
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
Trustee investment policy: Butler-Sloss & Ors – Law & Religion UK
‘In Butler-Sloss & Ors v The Charity Commission for England and Wales & Anor [2022] EWHC 974 (Ch), the trustees of two charities – the Ashden Trust and the Mark Leonard Trust, whose principal purposes were environmental protection and improvement and the relief of poverty – sought clarification on whether they could adopt an investment policy that excluded many profitable potential investments which they considered would conflict with their charitable purposes.’
Law & Religion UK, 2nd May 2022
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
Inquiry into foundation linked to Prince of Wales launched – The Guardian
‘The Charity Commission has launched a statutory inquiry into allegations that donations intended for the Prince of Wales’ Prince’s Foundation went instead to the Mahfouz Foundation.’
The Guardian, 18th November 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Saturday musings: the Charity Commission and “political” campaigning – Law & Religion UK
‘The Runnymede Trust is a charitable think-tank focused on race equality and race relations in the UK. The Charity Commission opened a compliance case in April 2021 after complaints about the Trust’s response to the report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (“the CRED report”) and the trustees’ decision to work with the Good Law Project to challenge certain public appointments. The Commission also noted the appearance of a senior executive of Runnymede at an event organised by a political party, alongside several elected representatives and affiliated speakers. The issue, in short, was whether the Trust was engaging in party-political activity, contrary to charity law – and the Commission has concluded that the Trust has not broken the law. So far, not much obviously to do with “religion” – but read on.’
Law & Religion UK, 4th September 2021
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
Charity Commission investigates Carrie Symonds’ employer – The Independent
‘The organisation that employs Boris Johnson’s fiancee Carrie Symonds is set to be investigated by the Charity Commission following “serious concerns” over its governance and financial management.’
The Independent, 1st April 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Prince Andrew charity broke law by paying trustee £350,000 – The Guardian
‘A charitable trust supporting the work of Prince Andrew has been required to return more than £350,000 in payments made to a trustee after a public watchdog intervened.’
The Guardian, 9th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Anger as watchdog clears Alzheimer’s Society of wrongdoing – The Guardian
‘The charity watchdog is embroiled in a row with ex-employees of the Alzheimer’s Society after clearing it of wrongdoing, following claims in a Guardian investigation over payouts to workers who signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).’
The Guardian, 4th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
The Registration of Grant-Making Charities – Radcliffe Chambers
‘What are the requirements that a grant-making charity needs to meet in order to be registered in England and Wales? How, if at all, do they differ from the requirements for service-providing charities?’
Radcliffe Chambers, 6th January 2020
Source: radcliffechambers.com
Charity watchdog investigating claims of sex cover up by charity run by new Oxfam boss – Daily Telegraph
‘The charity watchdog is investigating claims that an organisation formerly led by the man enlisted to put the “house in order” following the Oxfam abuse scandal had allegedly covered up another sex scandal.’
Daily Telegraph, 23rd June 2019
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Oxfam criticised over Haiti sex claims – BBC News
‘Oxfam has been severely criticised by the Charity Commission for the way it dealt with claims of serious sexual misconduct by its staff in Haiti.’
BBC News, 11th June 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Regulator warns policy makers to “think very carefully” before setting up charity for singular public project – Local Government Lawyer
‘The fact that more than £50m of public funds was spent by the Garden Bridge Trust without producing demonstrable public benefit or impact represented “a failure for charity which risks undermining public trust”, the Charity Commission has said.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th April 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Garden Bridge which cost the taxpayer more than £50m was ‘a failure for charity’ that undermines public trust, commission rules – Daily Telegraph
‘The London Garden Bridge, which cost the taxpayer more than £50 million, was “a failure for charity” that undermines public trust, the Charity Commission has ruled.’
Daily Telegraph, 9th April 2019
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
The end of the line for Kennedy v Charity Commission – Panopticon
‘The background, as you may recall, is that Mr Kennedy, a Times journalist, was trying to get information out of the Charity Commission in connection with the ‘Mariam Appeal’, a fund set up by George Galloway MP for the purposes of supporting Iraqi children suffering from leukaemia. Mr Kennedy wanted to get hold of the information in connection with an investigation he was conducting into whether monies collected under the name of Mariam’s Appeal had been misused. Mr Kennedy made a FOIA request to the Charity Commission, which had conducted an investigation into Mariam’s Appeal. Mr Kennedy’s request was refused on the basis that the information requested fell within the scope of s. 32 FOIA (absolute exemption concerning court records).’
Panopticon, 18th March 2019
Source: panopticonblog.com
Charity Commission Inquiry: Birmingham Diocesan Trust – Law & Religion UK
‘On 12 February 2019, the Charity Commission issued the following Press Release regarding a new inquiry into the charity behind the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham over safeguarding concerns.’
Law & Religion UK, 14th February 2019
Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com
The status of allotments – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The recent decision of the Upper Tribunal in Densham v Charity Commission [2018] UKUT 0402, in which the Charity Commission made detailed legal submissions, will be of interest to all trust law practitioners as well as those working with local authorities.’
Law Society's Gazette, 28th January 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Former trustees of MA 1985 (formerly Muslim Aid) criticised after investigation finds serious mismanagement – Charity Commission
‘The Charity Commission has found serious mismanagement on the part of the former board of trustees of MA 1985 (formerly Muslim Aid), as set out in an inquiry report published today.’
Charity Commission, 6th December 2018
source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission
Charity commission and fundraising websites plan crackdown on fraudulent donation pages – Daily Telegraph
‘Charity regulators are cracking down on fundrasing scammers after concerns that fraudsters had used tragedies such as Grenfell Tower and terror attacks to dupe donors.’
Daily Telegraph, 27th September 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
