Tag: Lord Donoughue

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2016-01-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are arrangements in place to prevent funding from the Department for International Development’s 2014–16 Programme Partnership Arrangement indirectly subsidising other elements of charities’ expenditure.

Earl of Courtown

Programme Partnership Arrangement funding is provided to organisations to meet objectives set out in robust performance frameworks, agreed between the organisation and DFID, but it is not tied to specific initiatives or interventions. Organisations formally report against these performance frameworks on an annual basis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord de Mauley on 11 March (WA 374), what offence would be committed by an RSPCA inspector making entry, or attempting to make entry, to private property of a private home without the permission of the owner.

Lord Faulks

If the RSPCA are investigating an allegation of animal cruelty and the owners do not cooperate or refuse entry to their property, the RSPCA would normally call upon the assistance of the police. The RSPCA has no special powers for entry or search and seizure – these powers lie with police constables and some local authority officers.

As such they would be subject to the law as any member of the public would be.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord de Mauley on 11 March (WA 374), further to making a complaint about an RSPCA inspector directly to that organisation, what other bodies have the power to regulate the conduct of RSPCA inspectors; and what advice is publicly available to individuals wishing to make a complaint about an investigator.

Lord De Mauley

A complaint can also be made to the police or the Charity Commission depending on the nature of the complaint.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 18 March (WS 50–52), how many trustees have been removed by the Charity Commission since 2007; how many trustees have been suspended by the Commission since 2007; and what discussions they have had with the Commission about its using its powers to investigate a breach of charitable law.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire

The number of trustees of charities suspended or removed by the Charity Commission in each year since 2007 can be seen in the table below:

	Number of trustees suspended	Number of trustees removed
2013/14	4	0
2012/13	0	0
2011/12	1	0
2010/11	1	0
2009/10	1	0
2008/09	1	1
2007/08	7	6

A number of meetings have been held with the Charity Commission to discuss its use of regulatory powers. The draft Protection of Charities Bill, announced as part of the Queen’s Speech, would strengthen the powers of the Charity Commission to tackle abuse in charities.