Tag: Charity Commission

The press release issued by the Charity Commission on 27 April 2023.

The Charity Commission is investigating Keren Shmuel’s repeated non-compliance with annual reporting requirements.

The regulator of charities in England and Wales has opened a statutory inquiry into Keren Shmuel following the charity’s repeated failure to file its annual accounting documents on time.

Keren Shmuel was established in 1996 for the advancement of the Jewish religion and religious education, which it achieves through grant-making.

The charity drew the regulator’s scrutiny in January 2017 when its annual return and accounts for the financial years ending 2014 and 2015 were still outstanding. Despite a final warning and deadline from the Commission, the required information was not submitted and the charity became part of the Commission’s class inquiry into charities failing to submit their annual accounting documents for two or more financial years.

As part of that inquiry, the Commission directed the trustees under section 84 of the Charities Act 2011 to submit the charity’s outstanding accounting documents. In March 2017, these documents were submitted and the charity ceased to be part of the class inquiry.

However, the trustees have twice since failed to meet their legal obligations to file the charity’s annual accounting documents on time, for the financial years ending 2019 and 2021. This is continuing evidence of the trustees’ misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity. It is the trustees’ legal duty to ensure that the charity’s annual accounting documents are submitted on time.

The trustees of Keren Shmuel have demonstrated repeated failure to comply with this duty, which warrants further investigation from the Commission as part of an inquiry. The inquiry will examine the administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees. The inquiry will also examine:

• the financial controls and management of the charity
• the conduct of the trustees

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.

It is the Commission’s policy to publish a report upon concluding an inquiry to detail its findings, conclusions, and any regulatory action taken.

The press release issued by the Charity Commission on 26 April 2023.

Helen Stephenson sets out how the regulator is working to better support trustees – and why it expects trustees to engage with its guidance and avoid disputes.

Good afternoon, I’m delighted to be here with you this afternoon.

I know it’s been a full day, as always, here at Trustee Exchange.

The team at Civil Society have curated a varied, thoughtful programme and I hope you’ve enjoyed the experience, learnt something, made some new connections. And that you’ve got enough energy left to engage with this final session of the day.

This is always an important event for us at the Charity Commission. Because it’s an opportunity to hear from, and speak to, the people who really matter in charities: you, the trustees.

Regardless of how large and well-staffed a charity is, the buck always stops with you. You are always the strategic driving force, asking the big questions, and making the big decisions. Steering the ship of your charities through waters smooth and stormy.

And most of you do this work for no financial reward and on top of already busy working and home lives.

It’s an immense service, not just directly for your beneficiaries, but for your communities, and our society.

Collectively, you make our country kinder, stronger, more cohesive.

The Commission’s role, fundamentally, is to protect that good work by nurturing the ancient contract of trust between the public, charities – you as trustees – and the state, which has existed down the centuries.

That contract requires us, at times, to use the powers Parliament has bestowed on us to investigate charities, and, where appropriate, to take firm action.

But the vast majority of charities – the vast majority of trustees – will never be subject to a commission investigation or compliance case.

And I said when I started as CEO of the Charity Commission that I was determined that we don’t forget the millions of trustees up and down England and Wales who just want to get it right, and need our support to do so.

One of the ways in which we do that is by providing guidance that is clear, accessible, and that helps trustees make confident decisions that are right for their charity, and in line with trustees’ duties.

Over recent years, we’ve invested huge effort in improving and updating our library of guidance.

For example, I’m pleased to announce that, earlier today, we published an updated version of one of our most-used pieces of guidance.

Charities and internal financial controls, which some of you may know as CC8, is a basic – all charities need to get this area right, from the smallest, to the very large.

We have worked hard to make CC8 clearer and more accessible, and to update it, for example to cover the use of services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, and working with cryptoassets. Our guidance stresses the risks involved in the use of crypto currency, and advises trustees to exercise caution.

As part of this process, we wrote to around 1,000 trustees to user test the new guidance, and 93% of those who responded said they were now more confident on their responsibilities around internal financial controls.

I hope you have the same experience when you use the new guidance. I encourage you to take a look.

Similarly, we’re now undertaking user-testing on our revised investment guidance, following a consultation in 2021, and more recently a court judgment.

Our guidance team have managed to shorten that guidance to a quarter of its previous length – reducing it from around 24,000 words to 5,600.

Our assumption is that this alone makes the guidance easier to understand and follow – but it’s precisely to test that assumption that we’ve asked a representative sample of charities and a small number of other groups to give us feedback on style and format.

I know that in the past, our guidance was not always as user-friendly as it could have been.

I hope you agree that we’ve come a long way since then.

But there is further for us to go.

My commitment to you, is that we’ll keep refining and improving our guidance, and the way in which we make it available to you – helping you get it right, in the interests of those you serve.

But I have an ask of you, in return.

And it’s that you actually use our guidance to inform your decision-making, in running your charity.

Unfortunately, too few trustees currently do.

Our research indicates that just over 40% of trustees never come to the Commission when they are looking for advice and guidance.

Just under a third come to us less than once a year. And only 10% come to us regularly in a given year.

Unfortunately, this shows in some trustees’ conduct and decision making.

Experience is not necessarily a guarantee that you’ve understood how your trustee duties play out when you face a new situation, or a new decision.

There are real world consequences when this doesn’t happen.

In serious cases, you may face a Commission compliance case or investigation.

But even when problems do not require our involvement, they can be costly and distracting. Robbing your charity of time, resources, energy and passion that should be going on the cause.

So it is vital that all trustees – those new to the role, and those who are more seasoned – know when they need guidance and support, and come to us as their regulator, as their first port of call.

I would also like to use this opportunity to raise another matter that is causing me concern at the moment, namely the frequency with which we see problems in relationships in charities, and the huge rupture and, frankly destruction, such disputes can wreak for charities and their beneficiaries.

I see too many cases that revolve, fundamentally, around fractious arguments, often involving two or more warring parties with differing visions for the future of the charity, and often crystalising around disputes as to who the rightly appointed trustees actually are.

Arguments that might have been settled, had trustees shown goodwill and commitment, and a willingness to compromise their position.

These arguments should not land at our front door. We have a role in promoting public trust in charities and upholding the law. But it’s not our job to mediate between, or indeed pick sides between rival groups of trustees.

It is not my intention to dissuade genuine whistleblowers within charities from raising their concerns with us. We want to hear from you if you are worried about wrongdoing in your charity.

Indeed, part of being an expert Commission that is fair and balanced is that we listen to every concern, and treat each matter that comes to us on its merits.

But please, don’t try to weaponize the Commission as a tactic in a quarrel with fellow trustees.

And don’t assume that by coming to the Commission as one party to a dispute, you’ll achieve the outcome you hope for. There’s no guarantee that we’ll ‘side’ with you – indeed intractable disputes can cause us to take other types of regulatory action in response to governance failures that arise.

I’ve asked my colleagues at the Commission to undertake some work so that we better understand the scale and nature of disputes in charities, and can support trustees to stop small differences escalating into chaos.

We know that the last few years have been challenging for charities, with a pandemic followed by a cost-of-living crisis and perhaps that is leading to cracks in relationships. I also suspect it perhaps has something to do with the passion and energy that so many trustees bring to their work. Occasionally, that energy can lead to fixed mindsets and a determination to be right at all costs.

Please don’t allow that to happen in your charity.

Use your passion to bring people together in the interests of those your charity exists to serve.

We know that there is more we – the Commission – can do to reach out to meet you where you are, rather than always expecting you, as busy trustees, to make the journey to us.

This, in large part is what the new My Charity Commission Account is all about.

With time, we hope this new service will be a one-stop-shop for individual trustees.

Internally we’re referring to it as trustees’ ‘digital front door’ into the Commission and the services we provide.

The place where you can log on for information that is tailored to you and your charity– what it does, and how it does it, when its filing deadline falls, your own length of service and experience as a trustee.

We also hope the service will help us cut through the noise that sometimes accompanies our work, often generated by those with a particular agenda or interests to promote.

That noise can, at times, create unnecessary uncertainty for trustees. It certainly distracts from our intention – whether with guidance or through other means – to help the majority of ordinary trustees run their charities well.

That’s the long-term vision, the outcome we’re striving towards in the years ahead.

It will take time for the service to fulfil its potential, and I should stress that initially, the main interaction you will have through My Charity Commission Account, will be to file your charity’s annual return.

But in time, I hope the service will quietly revolutionise our relationship with individual trustees, supporting them to make good, responsible, lawful decisions in their charity’s best interests.

In the meantime, we’re writing out to charity contacts, asking them to log in to My Charity Commission Account, so that each charity has at least one log in and can start using the service when we roll it out.

Please help us by ensuring you have the right person registered as your charity’s contact, and that their email address is up to date.

This is a substantial period of change in our digital services. The services we’re developing are big and complex to deliver.

But by ensuring your contact details are up to date, and by taking swift action when you’re invited to sign up, you can help us ensure the roll out is smooth for all involved.

What underlines our work so far on the My Charity Commission Account is a growing understanding of trustees as people.

We put work into examining which trustees come to us – and why, and when, and what a successful interaction looks like for them.

That’s helped us create pen portraits of archetypal trustees – with biographical information and detail about what motivates them to serve as trustees, how they feel about digital services, and what they expect from any interaction with the Commission.

We have, for example, Babs.

Babs is 72, now retired, but worked all her life as a solicitor.

She’s a trustee of a group of hospices – she got involved after the charity provided care to a close friend.

Babs doesn’t look after the day-to-day administration of the charity – there’s an office manager who, for example, files the charity’s Annual Return.

Babs wants to get it right, and feels it’s important for the charity to ‘keep on the right side of the Commission’.

For that reason, she keeps a close eye on CC News and other sources for updates from us. But she’s more reactive than proactive – she relies on us to tell her what’s new, and doesn’t necessarily come to us when she needs guidance ahead of making a decision. Her technical know-how, however, as a former lawyer, is pretty high.

She prefers to use her laptop for Commission matters – but once in a while she does read updates on her smartphone.

My Charity Commission Account won’t perhaps dramatically transform Babs’ trusteeship – she’s getting a lot right at the moment. But we hope it will make her feel more engaged with us, more likely to seek out our guidance, and that, with time, the service will make her feel better supported by us.

Stories like those of Babs are helping us design services and user journeys – both digital and otherwise – that are built around the needs of trustees.

And they remind us too, that our work at the Commission is not just about dusty governing documents and detailed legislation, but about real people, who are making a difference.

Financial climate/ challenges and Revitalising Trusts

I’m aware of course that this is a particularly difficult time.

Many trustees are facing cumulative pressures, with increasing demand for services, rising costs, and changing giving habits.

Earlier this month, the Social Market Foundation reported that over 40% of the British public are donating less than they were three years ago, with a further quarter expecting their donations to continue to decline.

Similarly, Pro Bono Economics estimate that the sector could see a real-terms income drop of around 800 million between the financial year just ended, and the one we’re now in.

The sector’s resilience never ceases to amaze me. This was the case during the pandemic, whose overall impact on the sector was not as catastrophic as many of us, me included, originally feared.

And I was pleased that, last month, the government pledged an additional 100 million for community organisations and local charities. This is no doubt very welcome, and much needed.

Nevertheless, what I hear in my visits to and meetings with charities, and what I see from other indicators at our disposal in the Commission, is that many charities are struggling. We are working to understand the liquidity indicators across different sizes and types of charity to determine if some charities are struggling more than others.

There is potential indication, for example, that charities in higher income brackets – so those with incomes over £5m – may face challenges in meeting day to day running costs, more so perhaps than medium sized charities. We’re now working to better understand the relevant data, and whether it does suggest any particular vulnerability for larger charities.

There are also indicators that charities working in certain areas- such as housing- may be facing particular pressure.

Sadly, as regulator, the Commission doesn’t have a silver bullet to alleviate all charities’ financial strains.

But we are thinking creatively about ways in which we can encourage funds to flow into the sector, and be well used within the sector.

Our Chair, has, for example, called on the very rich to give a greater proportion of their wealth to charity. We are concerned that philanthropy in this country is lagging behind what we see in other similar countries such as Canada and New Zealand.

Expect to hear more from us on this in the months ahead.

Another lever is our Revitalising Trusts Programme. This is a collaborative project between the Commission, UK Community Foundations, and government.

It works to get dormant funds sitting in the accounts of inactive charities back into circulation, either by encouraging trustees of those charities to spend their funds down, or by helping those charities wind up, releasing their assets to other charities.

I’m delighted to reveal today that the project has reached the 100 million pound milestone. So that’s 100 million pounds either spent by charities that were inactive, or transferred by inactive charities to those with the energy and capacity to make an impact.

Money that would otherwise be sitting idly in bank accounts, instead making a difference in communities across England and Wales.

For example, the programme worked with a church memorial fund that was spending less than 30% of its income year after year.

We contacted the trustees, who responded positively, and realised that they needed support delivering their charity’s mission. The trustees ultimately transferred the charity’s assets – nearly 380 thousand pounds – to their local community foundation in Northamptonshire, which set up a specific fund with the same purposes of the original charity. That money is now going to good use. Among the organisations that have already received funds is a CIC that gives young people careers advice, and helps them apply successfully for jobs.

One small example of the real-world impact of the Revitalising Trusts Programme. There are many more. I’ll be shouting from the rooftops about the successes of the programme in the months ahead, as we celebrate that £100m milestone, and the wonderful stories involved.

In conclusion, I don’t make light of the challenges facing the sector or the Commission, and indeed I’ve spoken to some of them today.

But I am optimistic about the future.

One of the greatest privileges of my role is that I get to visit and meet with many charities, the length and breadth of England and Wales, and to witness the difference – big and small – that charities make day in day out.

And what I see inspires me.

As I said at the start, trustees are ultimately the people who make that good stuff happen.

So I’d like to say thank you, and keep going.

Take pride and inspiration from the fact that ultimately, the people you’re serving and helping are your beneficiaries, and our society more generally.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Charity Commission on 26 April 2023.

The Charity Commission is calling on charities to check their financial controls protect against risks, including those from newer technology such as cryptoassets, with the help of its redesigned guidance.

Published today (Wednesday 26th April 2023), the updated guidance (known as ‘CC8’) explains the role strong internal financial controls play in ensuring trustees can safeguard their charity’s resources. The restructured guidance is now more concise, clearer and covers issues that were not in existence or widely relevant to the sector when first drafted. The guidance also includes an updated checklist to help the charity sector–which generates an income of £80 billion a year in England and Wales–put it into practice.

Last week, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology published research which reported that 24% of charities experienced a cyber-attack in the last 12 months. New sections of the regulator’s guidance cover issues including using mobile payments systems, such as Google Pay and Apple Pay; and considering donations of cryptoassets, such as cryptocurrency and NFTs.

Risks from cryptoassets highlighted include vulnerability to theft by hackers; potential sudden changes in value; difficulty in tracing donors, and a lack of protection from agencies such as the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) if something goes wrong.

The regulator has also refreshed existing advice on more traditional risks, such as when fundraising and holding public collections; making payments to related parties; and operating internationally; and added a section on accepting hospitality.

Sam Jackson, Assistant Director of Policy at the Charity Commission said:

As more and more charities move to operate online and newer technologies are developed, such as the use of cryptocurrencies, trustees will need to navigate risks that might not have been previously considered. We have updated our guidance to reflect the digital age we all live in and worked hard to ensure it is clear and simple to use.

We know there are many internal and external risks to consider which is why we have also updated our helpful checklist so that trustees can have informed discussions about the measures they need in order to best protect their charity’s assets and donations entrusted to them by the public.

The Charity Commission carried out user testing on the redesigned CC8 guidance with a sample of 1000 charities who were each sent the draft guidance. 90% of respondents said they would recommend the new guidance to other trustees and 93% felt confident that they knew what internal financial controls they needed for their charity.

The full guidance can be found on our gov.uk page.

The press release issued by the Charity Commission on 30 March 2023.

The Charity Commission has published findings of its inquiry into Rhema Church London which found serious misconduct and/or mismanagement had occurred.

Today (Thursday 30th March 2023), the Charity Commission has published findings of its inquiry into Rhema Church London.

The Commission concluded that the charity’s trustees had failed to fulfil their duties to protect the charity and its assets, and failed to demonstrate any effective oversight of senior staff leading to the serious misconduct and/or mismanagement, including misuse of funds and other assets.

Rhema Church London was established in 1999 to advance the Christian religion and provide education and relief of the aged, infirm and those in poverty. The charity operated an Evangelical Church in Croydon.

During the inquiry, the regulator found evidence that the charity spent approximately £95,000 on trips overseas without any authorisation or clear charitable purpose. The trips, to locations including Italy, Greece and Austria, were led by former pastor, Martin Phelps.

The inquiry also uncovered that day-to-day living expenses such as food, domestic purchases, medical bills, vets’ bills, and gym memberships, all of which appeared to be of a personal nature, were claimed and paid out by the charity in the absence of any expense policy or clear financial controls. The Commission determined the charity’s assets to be at risk and so took action to freeze the charity’s bank accounts in November 2015.

The inquiry also found that cheques totalling £300,000 had been paid to the charity’s former pastor between 2014 and 2015. £225,000 of the £300,000 had been transferred out of the charity’s account and placed into a personal account to reduce monthly mortgage interest payments before being transferred back to the charity. The regulator discovered that no guarantee had been obtained or security measures put in place prior to transferring the significant sum, placing the funds at considerable risk.

The regulator’s investigation also found that most of the charity’s spending was incorrectly categorised and lacked sufficient information to prove it was for charitable purposes. This failure resulted in the charity being liable to pay £543,285.82 in additional taxes. The charity also failed to submit accounts to the Commission on time for five consecutive years.

Due to the serious nature of the concerns, the Commission made use of many of its regulatory powers over the course of the investigation. In 2015, the regulator appointed Interim Managers (IMs) to address issues uncovered by the inquiry and review the charity’s day-to-day governance, as well as consider its future. The Commission disqualified the charity’s former pastor from being a trustee and/or holding any office or employment with senior management functions at any charity for 10 years. The regulator also used its powers to make an Order under section 76(3)(c)(i) of the Charities Act 2011 to sell three properties owned by the charity as part of efforts to settle the charity’s accounts.

Amy Spiller, Head of Investigations at the Commission, said:

Trustees must use their charity’s funds to further the charity’s purposes and ensure there are robust financial controls in place to stop the abuse of these funds.

From our investigation it was clear that trustees at Rhema Church London had failed to meet this obligation, leading to significant misuse of funds by a former senior employee. These expenses did not appear to serve any charitable purpose or benefit to the charity’s beneficiaries.

The Interim Managers worked at length to settle the charity’s accounts and I am pleased they were able to recover over £136,000 which could be put to good use at charities with similar purposes.

The IMs determined the most appropriate course of action was to wind down the charity, satisfy the charity’s creditors and to pass on any surplus funds to a charity with similar objects. Following the closure of the charity and settling of its finances, the IMs were able to recover £136,760.70 which was distributed to three nearby charities which all held similar charitable purposes.

Rhema Church London was removed from the register of charities on the 7th June 2022.

The press release issued by the Charity Commission on 15 February 2023.

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into the Middlesbrough Central Masjid and Community Centre after the charity repeatedly failed to provide financial accounts.

The Middlesbrough Central Masjid and Community Centre was set up to provide a place of worship, religious education and community services for the benefit of the local community in Middlesbrough.

In December 2019, the regulator placed the charity into a double defaulter class inquiry in which charities in default of their legal duty to file their annual reports, accounts, and returns for two or more years are investigated. This prompted the charity to submit its annual return and accounts for financial year ending (FYE) 2019 which were overdue by 180 days. The charity also submitted an incomplete Trustees Annual Report (TAR) for FYE 2019.

Despite already being subject to a double defaulter class inquiry, the charity again failed to submit annual returns and accounts for FYE in 2020 and 2021 to the Charity Commission. It is a legal requirement for a charity to submit their required documents no later than 10 months after the end of their financial year end.

The inquiry, which opened on the 13th December 2022, will examine:

• The extent to which the trustees have and are complying with their legal duties in respect of the administration, governance, and management of the charity. This includes management of the charity’s finances, and whether the charity is operating in line with its objects.
• The extent to which any failing or weaknesses in the administration, governance and management of the charity identified during the inquiry were the result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees.

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.

It is the Commission’s policy to publish a report upon concluding an inquiry to detail its findings, conclusions, and any regulatory action taken.

The press release issued by the Charity Commission on 8 February 2023.

Regulators urge public to ‘give safely’ when looking to support international aid efforts in response to earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

As many people across Britain look to support international aid efforts in response to earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the Charity Commission for England and Wales and the Fundraising Regulator are urging the public to ‘give safely’.

This comes as the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launches a Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal. The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities to raise funds quickly and efficiently in times of crisis overseas.

Launched today (Wednesday 8th February), the Appeal aims to secure urgent funding and support for people across Turkey and Syria who need immediate help to survive after disastrous earthquakes have had widespread impact across both countries since the 6th February 2023.

Both regulators are reminding people to check charities are registered and legitimate as people make generous donations to causes helping to support people affected by the earthquakes.

DEC members and other registered charities are providing vital life-saving aid like food, water and healthcare to those affected. Many are also supplying cold weather kits to help people stay warm. By supporting registered charities, including through the DEC, the public can be assured that their donations will be regulated and accounted for in line with charity law.

Helen Stephenson, Chief Executive of the Charity Commission said:

The impacts of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria are shocking and devastating. Charities are once again stepping in to support those in need. I know that so many people across the UK will want to contribute and so I want to ensure every donation reaches its intended cause. This is why we are reminding everyone to give through the DEC or follow our simple steps, such as checking our online register, to make sure they’re giving safely.

Gerald Oppenheim, Chief Executive of the Fundraising Regulator said:

The situation following the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria is horrifying to witness, and thousands have lost their lives or have been injured.

The British public are generous and will be eager to support the relief work led by the DEC and its member charities where they can. Please carry out our recommended checks before donating money or goods to make sure you are giving to a genuine cause and that your generously donated money reaches its intended destination.

Established charities with experience of responding to disasters are usually best placed to reach people on the ground. Giving financial aid through humanitarian aid organisations, rather than sending donated goods directly to regions, is also often more practical and sustainable.

While most fundraising is genuine, the Charity Commission and Fundraising Regulator warn that fraudsters and criminals can take advantage of public generosity at times of increased giving. This includes using various methods such as fake appeal websites, email appeals that falsely use the name of genuine charities, or appeals from groups claiming to be charities.

The regulators therefore encourage people to ensure they support genuine relief efforts by following a few simple steps before giving:

• check the charity’s name and registration number on the Charity Register at www.gov.uk/checkcharity – most charities with an annual income of £5,000 or more must be registered.
• make sure the charity is genuine before giving any financial information.
• be careful when responding to emails or clicking on links within them.
• contact or find out more online about the charity that you’re seeking to donate to or work with to understand how they are spending their funds
• look out for the Fundraising Badge – the logo that says ‘registered with Fundraising Regulator’ – and check the Fundraising Regulator’s Directory of organisations which have committed to fundraise in line with the Code of Fundraising Practice.

In 2021, 307 registered charities reported working in Turkey and/or Syria, spending over £220 million on charitable activity.

After making these checks:

• If you think that a collection or appeal is not legitimate, report it to the police. If you think the collection is fraudulent report it to Action Fraud over the phone at 0300 123 2040 or online.
• If you think a collector does not have a licence – report it to the relevant Local Authority Licensing Team or the Metropolitan Police (if in Greater London). Also let the charity know if you can.

Members of the public initiating their own informal fundraising appeals that are not linked to established registered charities should be aware of the ongoing responsibilities associated with overseeing and managing funds and ensuring they are applied in line with donors’ wishes.

You can also complain about a charity to the Charity Commission if you have concerns about a charity’s governance and the Fundraising Regulator if you have concerns about its fundraising.

The press release issued by the Charity Commission on 20 January 2023.

The Charity Commission has launched a statutory inquiry into the Organisation of Blind Africans and Caribbeans to examine potential serious wrongdoing by an individual involved in the control of the charity. These regulatory concerns have been exacerbated by significant difficulties in obtaining information from the trustees.

The charity was initially registered with the Commission in 1994, and re-registered in 2011 after incorporating as a charitable company. The charity provides services, education and training to people who are blind or partially sighted in the UK, Africa and the Caribbean.

Since July 2021 the Commission has attempted to engage with the charity to explore concerns around potential wrongdoing and/or abuse by a senior employee. It has repeatedly met with difficulties in obtaining information and cooperation from the trustees and multiple instances of non-compliance, including with an Order issued under section 52 of the Charities Act.

The underlying concerns about this individual’s continued involvement in the charity and the trustees’ ongoing failures to properly engage with the regulator have resulted in the Commission’s decision to open a statutory inquiry.

The inquiry was opened on 15 December 2022 and will examine:

• The administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees.
• Whether the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees under charity law; in particular whether they exercise sufficient oversight over the charity’s activities and executive leadership.
• Whether there has been any misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees.

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing issues the examined, the action undertaken, and the inquiry’s outcomes.

The press release issued by the Charity Commission on 13 January 2023.

An investigation into a homeless charity has found evidence of serious financial mismanagement, and evidence that the charity’s funds were used to benefit the charity’s former CEO and former trustees.

The Ashley Foundation was registered as a charity in 1997 and operates hostels and flats for homeless people in Blackpool, Sunderland and Blackburn.

The inquiry finds that the former trustees sold off several of the charity’s properties housing vulnerable homeless people, before entering into highly disadvantageous agreements with a third party to manage those same properties. In one instance, former trustee Ashley Dribben personally received £40,000 for his involvement in the transaction.

The inquiry also identified significant personal benefit, including the use of thousands of pounds of charity funds on the repair and upkeep of personal properties belonging to former CEO Lee Dribben and his son Ashley.

The inquiry further found that Lee Dribben used charity expenses on luxury travel and meals, including over £3000 on a three-night trip to London, with first class travel and meals at Le Caprice and the Wolseley Hotel. On the same trip, £45 was claimed for a bottle of wine at a restaurant in Covent Garden.

Charity money was also inappropriately spent on luxury items including Apple Watches, flat screen TVs and silk sheets, which the former CEO claimed were gifts for associates.

On one occasion, Lee Dribben used the charity’s funds to purchase a Spymaster tracking system, which the inquiry was told was used to surveil individuals during contract negotiations with the charity. The report notes that the inquiry did not accept this was appropriate use of the charity’s funds, and that “covert activity is unacceptable” for a charity.

The regulator’s report stresses that the charity’s current trustees have taken action to rectify governance problems, including in successfully re-acquiring the sold properties and terminating the agreements. The Commission is now satisfied the appropriate controls are in place to safeguard the charity’s assets moving forward.

The Commission concluded that there was serious misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of The Ashley Foundation, and took action to disqualify Lee Dribben and Ashley Dribben from charity trusteeships and senior management for 15 years, and former chair of the charity, David Kam, for 10 years.

The Commission also used its powers to safeguard the charity’s assets, by freezing bank accounts and preventing further sale of property. The inquiry referred its concerns about potential criminality to Lancashire police.

Amy Spiller, Head of Investigations at the Commission, said:

Our investigation found that the former trustees and CEO misused this charity and received significant unauthorised personal benefit from funds intended to help vulnerable homeless people.

Trustees must use their charity’s funds to further the charity’s purposes and ensure there are robust financial and controls in place to stop the abuse of these funds.

I commend the current board of trustees for identifying the serious wrongdoing and initiating action to put the charity’s house in order. I hope that their work, and our intervention, means the charity is now able to deliver on its charitable purposes to help the homeless across Blackpool, Sunderland and Blackburn.

The press release issued by the Charity Commission on 22 November 2022.

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into the Islamic Centre of England Limited over serious governance concerns.

The charity is based in London and its charitable purposes include advancing the religion of Islam and education and welfare among the Muslim community.

The regulator’s decision follows extensive engagement with the charity over recent years, which has included issuing the charity with an Official Warning. The Warning followed two events held at the charity’s premises in 2020 that eulogised Major General Qasem Soleimani who is subject to UK sanctions.

A follow-up case in 2021 concluded that the charity was only partially compliant with the actions set out in the Official Warning and identified further regulatory concerns. These included concerns about the content of the charity’s website and the trustees’ management of conflicts of interest, and led to the Commission issuing an Action Plan.

The Commission has identified that the trustees have failed to fully comply with the Action Plan and Official Warning and a number of further regulatory concerns also remain.

The Commission has therefore opened a statutory inquiry into the charity, which will examine:

1. The extent to which the trustees have properly exercised their legal duties and responsibilities under charity law, in particular regarding the charity’s website and events.
2. Whether the trustees are willing, and able, to further the charity’s objects in accordance its Governing Document.
3. The governance and administration of the charity by the trustees, including the identification and management of conflicts of interest and/or loyalty.

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were.