Partner Nick Burrows, in our Charities & Education team, looks at what the Charity Commission expects of a charity's trustees and officers when contacting them.
The Charity Commission has published a policy paper on what it expects when communicating with charity trustees or officers.
Contacting the Charity Commission
In the policy paper the Commission sets out what they expect of trustees and officers when being contacted. They expect you to:
- prepare carefully - this includes reading relevant Commission guidance, collecting all necessary information and being clear of what it is you want or need from the Commission; and
- provide information which is true, complete and correct.
The Charity Commission contacts you
The paper also explains that ultimately the Commission wants to know that its regulatory concerns are being or have been fully addressed. This means trustees and officers:
- fully cooperating with the Commission;
- providing full, frank and honest answers to its questions; and
- providing information or documents the Commission requests by the date specified.
Regulatory concerns
The paper concludes by setting out how trustees and officers can ensure issues and concerns are resolved as quickly as possible. It emphasises the need for trustees to:
- meet any deadlines set by the Commission; and
- answer the Commission’s questions fully and honestly.
If the above requirements are not met the Commission is likely to conclude that the regulatory concerns are not resolved and they may take stronger regulatory action. The policy reminds charities that it is a criminal offence for anyone to knowingly or recklessly provide false or misleading information to the Commission. This includes suppressing, concealing or destroying documents.
One recent example of the importance of not misleading the Commission arose with the charity Rainbow Rooms LGBT Ltd. In this case Mr Clark, CEO and trustee of the charity, had made false declarations to the Commission in respect of his previous convictions which inevitably led to the charity being exposed to a safeguarding risk. Mr Clark was sentenced to 4 months’ imprisonment for supplying false or misleading information to the Commission. Michelle Russell, Director of Investigations, Monitoring and Enforcement at the Commission said:
“This case shows that misleading the Commission is a serious offence that has very real consequences. The individual showed a blatant disregard for the law and put young people at risk. We welcome the robust sentence passed down in this case, and hope it may act as a deterrent to those who may attempt such serious misconduct.”
For further information or legal advice, please contact law@blandy.co.uk or call 0118 951 6800.
This article is intended for the use of clients and other interested parties. The information contained in it is believed to be correct at the date of publication, but it is necessarily of a brief and general nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific professional advice.
