Regulator warns charities need to stop slide in public trust

Tina Stowell, chair of the Charity Commission has warned that registered charities may not survive unless they behave with greater selflessness and stop the slide in public trust.

 

After a string of scandals, including the collapse of Kids Company in 2015, and the sexual exploitation in Haiti by a senior Oxfam worker, which emerged in 2018, Lady Stowell, a former Conservative minister, is to set out a tougher stance over the regulation of the £74bn-a-year sector.

 

In a speech that also attempts to draw a line under criticism of the regulator's own effectiveness, Stowell will warn that the "concept of charity" is under threat.

 

She will single out aggressive fundraising practices, the exploitation of vulnerable people, and single-minded pursuit of organisational growth at the expense of charitable objectives, as examples of bad behaviour that should cease.

 

The number of serious incidents reported to the regulator increased 29% last year. Close to half of people polled in a recent survey for the regulator said their level of trust in charities had fallen in 2018.

 

"A charity, to inspire trust, must be more than an organisation with laudable aims," Stowell will say. "It must be a living example of charitable purpose, charitable attitude and charitable behaviour."

 

Peter Kellner, chair of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, said charities should support the commission's approach. "The great majority that maintain those standards feel betrayed when a small minority fall short. Levels of trust have seen a modest decline. It needs to be reversed. To help achieve this NCVO will soon publish a code of ethics for the charity sector … NCVO accepts the challenge to help charities do more, and do it better."

 

The commission wants to reinforce the existing rules and be more vocal about wrongdoing. It is expected to demand an increase in funding from ministers following years of cuts.

 

Stowell will say charities should avoid extravagance, be transparent and show a "relentless focus on the welfare of your beneficiaries, rather than the interests of your own organisation". She will add: "Being a registered charity will need to amount to more than it does today if that status is to survive let alone thrive."

 

For confidential, legal advice contact our team of specialist solicitors on 0161 928 5558