STORY
The Charity Commission has opened a formal investigation into a Blackpool anti-poverty charity after persistent failures to file legally required financial information and concerns about how the organisation is being managed.
Blackpool’s Voice, founded in 2020 to help residents struggling with hardship, has never submitted its accounts or annual returns. The regulator also discovered the charity has been operating with too few trustees, raising doubts about whether it has adequate oversight. Earlier efforts by the Commission to secure compliance were unsuccessful, prompting the escalation to a statutory inquiry.
The investigation will assess whether trustees have met their legal duties, whether the charity is functioning in line with its governing document, and whether any conflicts of interest or personal benefit issues have arisen. The Commission has said the inquiry’s scope may expand if further concerns come to light.
A full report will be published at the end of the investigation. The charity has not commented publicly, but the inquiry highlights the regulator’s continued push to strengthen governance and accountability across the sector.