In the course of its work, the Charity Commission takes a wide range of decisions. Those decisions range from whether or not to register an organisation as a charity, through decisions made in the course of providing advice, guidance and support to charitable organisations in England and Wales, to decisions about how we deal with cases of suspected abuse or maladministration.
When we take decisions we take a lot of trouble to make sure that we get them right and that any decision is in the interests of the particular organisation involved. We do recognise, however, that from time to time a customer may consider that we have not taken the correct decision and this is where our procedures to review decisions come in. The aim of a Decision Review is to ensure that the Commission’s decision is the right one, in the sense that it is a proper exercise of our powers and consistent with our statutory objectives. We also check that the reasons for our decisions have been adequately expressed.
Where we agree to conduct a Decision Review, the process will usually be conducted within a maximum of 3 months. The process is managed by Legal Services and co-ordinated by the Final Decision and Tribunal Team (the FDT team). The decision you receive following the decision review process is the Commission’s final decision.
Alternatively, if you are dissatisfied with a decision we have made, you may be able to apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Charity). Details about how to contact the Tribunal can be found at the bottom of this page. You do not have to go through our decision review process before making an application to the Tribunal.
You can read further guidance about which decisions we are prepared to review and about the Decision Review procedure in our guidance ‘Dissatisfied with one of the Commission’s Decisions: How can we help you'. To get an idea of the types of review we undertake you can view our published decisions.
How to ask us to review a decision
If after reading our guidance, you would like to ask for a Decision Review, you may complete this form on-line.
If you are not completing the form on-line, please print off the PDF version of the form and return to Charity Commission Direct. We will regard a returned form by email, letter or fax as sufficient formal notification of your request for a review.
The First-tier Tribunal (Charity)
If you are dissatisfied with the Commission’s decision you may be able to appeal or make an application for review to the Tribunal. Schedule 1C of the Charities Act 1993 sets out for each type of decision who is eligible to request an appeal or apply for a review.
The First-tier Tribunal (Charity) is an independent legal body which has the power to look again at some of the decisions made by the Commission and to quash, change or add to them. In some cases the Tribunal may direct us to take further action or rectify our decision.
The Tribunal can be contacted as follows:
The First-tier Tribunal (Charity) Manager
Tribunals Operational Support Centre
PO Box 9300
Leicester
LE1 8DJ
Telephone: 0845 6000 877
Fax: 0116 249 4253
Email