The Charity Commission is committed to customer service. We are constantly looking at ways we can provide a better level of service to our diverse customer base.
Because our customers are best placed to inform us if our service delivery meets their needs, we have set up a Customer Network to give our customers the opportunity to provide feedback, suggestions and views on a wide range of policy issues. These help us to meet customer needs and continuously improve our level of service.
How does the customer network work?
We are committed to listening to Network members, whether they are responding to specific consultations or coming to us with their own ideas. That is not to say that we will be able to make every change suggested but we will give all ideas and comments due consideration.
Network membership is open to organisations and individuals which want to engage with the Commission. Our aim is for members to reflect the diversity of the sector in terms of income levels, charitable activity and location in England and Wales. The usual medium for consultations is email, but in some cases focus groups and workshops may be held.
You should also email us if you are interested in applying to join the network or have any other queries.
The customer network provides members with the opportunity to:
- participate in at least one formal written consultation per year;
- attend workshops or meetings to discuss issues arising from informal consultations;
- influence customer service policy development;
- suggest sector issues for future consultation;
- feed back concerns about the Commission's standards of service; and
- channel your views to a listening forum where attention will be given to comments, suggestions and complaints.
The customer network enables the Charity Commission to:
- maintain a dedicated forum which can be used to seek your views and opinions about sector issues;
- produce recognisable service improvements based upon your input;
- where possible re-design our services around your needs; and
- take forward new ideas and suggestions to improve our customer services.
Recent and forthcoming consultations include:
- review of the Commission's complaint procedure;
- the submission of online Annual Returns;
- the format of Commission publications; and
- review of the Commission's Decision Review procedure in light of the Charities Bill and development of a tribunal.
There are pieces of work across the whole range of the Commission's work that we are interested in seeking feedback on. We do not expect members to consult on every piece of work as we do not want to put any extra burden on customers, but we do expect members to take part in a minimum of one consultation a year.
We also ask members to raise issues with us that are perhaps causing problems for a specific type of charity or the sector generally. The Network is not restricted to organisations reacting passively to policy consultation, but we give proper consideration to any issues that organisations bring to our attention. Engagement is a two-way process.
What can you expect from the Charity Commission?
The Charity Commission is committed to being open and transparent in the way that it works. The network is managed in the same way. You can expect from us a consistent and clear level of service in terms of each consultation process. We will follow Cabinet Office guidelines on each formal consultation.
You can open the Cabinet Office guidelines at www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regulation/consultation/code/index.aspx. These guidelines specify that the Commission must adhere to six consultation criteria.
The six consultation criteria are:
- Consult widely throughout the process, allowing a minimum of 12 weeks for written consultation at least once during the development of the policy.
- Be clear about what our proposals are, who may be affected, what questions are being asked and the timescale for responses.
- Ensure that our consultation is clear, concise and widely accessible.
- Give feedback regarding the responses received and how the consultation process influenced the policy.
- Monitor our department's effectiveness at consultation, including through the use of a designated consultation coordinator.
- Ensure our consultation follows better regulation best practice, including carrying out a Regulatory Impact Assessment if appropriate.
If you consider that a specific consultation process did not meet these guidelines and wish to make a complaint, you can do so by contacting the network co-ordinator by email.