Charity Commission – Page 2 – Current Awareness

Trustee investment policy: Butler-Sloss & Ors – Law & Religion UK

Posted May 3rd, 2022 in charities, Charity Commission, environmental protection, news, trusts by sally

‘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.’

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Law & Religion UK, 2nd May 2022

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Inquiry into foundation linked to Prince of Wales launched – The Guardian

Posted November 19th, 2021 in charities, Charity Commission, corruption, inquiries, news by tracey

‘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.’

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The Guardian, 18th November 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Saturday musings: the Charity Commission and “political” campaigning – Law & Religion UK

Posted September 6th, 2021 in bills, charities, Charity Commission, elections, news, political parties by tracey

‘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.’

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Law & Religion UK, 4th September 2021

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Charity Commission investigates Carrie Symonds’ employer – The Independent

Posted April 1st, 2021 in charities, Charity Commission, conflict of interest, financial regulation, inquiries, news by tracey

‘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.’

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The Independent, 1st April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Prince Andrew charity broke law by paying trustee £350,000 – The Guardian

Posted June 10th, 2020 in charities, Charity Commission, news, remuneration, royal family by sally

‘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.’

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The Guardian, 9th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Anger as watchdog clears Alzheimer’s Society of wrongdoing – The Guardian

Posted May 5th, 2020 in charities, Charity Commission, confidentiality, news, non-disclosure agreements, whistleblowers by sally

‘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).’

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The Guardian, 4th May 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Registration of Grant-Making Charities – Radcliffe Chambers

Posted January 9th, 2020 in charities, Charity Commission, news by sally

‘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?’

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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

Posted June 24th, 2019 in abuse of position of trust, charities, Charity Commission, news, professional conduct, sexual offences, standards, whistleblowers by tracey

‘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.’

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Daily Telegraph, 23rd June 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Oxfam criticised over Haiti sex claims – BBC News

Posted June 12th, 2019 in abuse of position of trust, charities, Charity Commission, child abuse, children, news, professional conduct, sexual offences, victims by tracey

‘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.’

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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

Posted April 12th, 2019 in budgets, charities, Charity Commission, local government, London, news, planning, public interest, taxation, transport by sally

‘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.’

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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

Posted April 10th, 2019 in budgets, charities, Charity Commission, London, news, taxation, transport by sally

‘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.’

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Daily Telegraph, 9th April 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The end of the line for Kennedy v Charity Commission – Panopticon

Posted March 19th, 2019 in appeals, charities, Charity Commission, disclosure, freedom of information, human rights, judicial review, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘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).’

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Panopticon, 18th March 2019

Source: panopticonblog.com

Charity Commission Inquiry: Birmingham Diocesan Trust – Law & Religion UK

Posted February 14th, 2019 in charities, Charity Commission, child abuse, inquiries, news by tracey

‘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.’

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Law & Religion UK, 14th February 2019

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

The status of allotments – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 29th, 2019 in charities, Charity Commission, local government, news, trusts by sally

‘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.’

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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

Posted December 7th, 2018 in charities, Charity Commission, conflict of interest, inquiries, press releases, professional conduct by tracey

‘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.’

Full press release

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

Posted September 27th, 2017 in charities, Charity Commission, fraud, internet, news by tracey

‘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.’

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Daily Telegraph, 27th September 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Charity Commission issues official warning to gurdwara – Law & Religion UK

Posted August 25th, 2017 in breach of trust, charities, Charity Commission, news, Sikhism by sally

‘The Charity Commission opened a compliance case in 2015 into Gurdwara Guru Nanak Parkash in Coventry and has now issued an official warning to the trustees under s 75A(1)(a) Charities Act 2011 on the grounds that “a breach of trust or duty or other misconduct or mismanagement has been committed by or in connection with the control and management of the charity as charity trustees”. This is only the second time the Commission has used its power to issue an official warning’

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Law & Religion UK, 24th August 2017

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

Jehovah’s Witnesses lose appeal to block New Moston inquiry – Law & Religion UK

Posted April 11th, 2017 in appeals, Charity Commission, human rights, inquiries, news, religious discrimination, tribunals, victims by sally

‘In Tayo & Ors (Trustees of Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses) v Charity Commission for England and Wales [2017] UKUT 134 (TCC), the trustees of Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses lost their appeal against the First Tier Tribunal’s refusal in 2015 – which we noted at the time – to review the Charity Commission’s decision to open a statutory inquiry into the charity under s 46 Charities Act 2011.’

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Law & Religion UK, 5th April 2017

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com