(Immediate release 20 July 2010)
The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has today published a report on its inquiry into the charity Independence South West (registered charity no. 280099). The charity runs a day care and respite centre for severely disabled adults in South West England.
The investigation was opened after the Commission was anonymously informed that the chair of the charity was being investigated by the police in connection with alleged fraud against a public body.
The Commission's investigation looked at a number of issues, including whether a trustee was receiving unauthorised benefits. This related to the way in which the charity employed and paid its chair to work as the charity's Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The investigation also looked at the misuse of charity resources, safeguarding procedures for the charity's vulnerable beneficiaries and the charity's failure to co-operate with the Commission.
The Commission's investigation found that the chair had misused the charity's invoices resulting in two police cautions for fraud by false representation. The inquiry also found that the chair received unauthorised trustee payments as the CEO of the charity, and that the charity's vulnerable beneficiaries had been put at risk due to poor management, lack of staff training and inadequate safeguarding procedures.
The Commission's involvement has ensured that the chair resigned from the board of trustees and from the position of CEO. The charity has now elected new trustees and a new chair of the board. The details of the Commission's investigation and its full findings are set out in the report published today.
The case highlighted issues for the wider sector. These included trustees' duty to ensure their charity's reputation is not brought into disrepute because it fails to manage risks or complaints properly. Trustees of charities working closely with vulnerable beneficiaries should pay particular attention to risks associated with the nature of their work. Trustees must react quickly and responsibly to allegations of harm to beneficiaries to ensure that no beneficiaries are at risk. Trustees should also ensure they manage their charity according to the provisions of its governing document
Full details of the investigation can be found on the Charity Commission's website.
Ends
For further information, please contact the press office
PR 49/10
Notes to Editors
1. The Inquiry was opened on 13 November 2009 and closed on 15 July 2010.
2. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. See www.charitycommission.gov.uk for further information or call our contact centre on 0845 300 0218.
3. Our mission is: to ensure charities' legal compliance, enhance charities' accountability, encourage charities' effectiveness and impact and to promote the public interest in charity.
4. The Commission conducts two kinds of investigation cases. Most concerns are dealt with through non-statutory investigations called 'regulatory compliance cases'. However, in cases of significant risk and more serious regulatory concern we may open a statutory inquiry under section 8 of the Charities Act 1993. The decision to open a statutory inquiry will be based on a number of factors, including evidence of serious suspicion of misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity and/or risk to property. The criteria we use are set out in our Risk and Proportionality Framework for the Commission's compliance work.
5. More information about the Charity Commission's Compliance Division can be found in Charities Back on Track, a report on the themes and wider issues arising from the Commission's compliance work. This can be found on the Commission's website.