Forum Topic

Why is the Charity Commission Statutory Inquiry taking so long?

On the 15th of September 2019 it was the three year anniversary of when the Statutory Inquiry into mismanagement and maladministration was announced.Why?Meanwhile the present board of WPCC continue to be as secretive and opaque as this charity has ever been. The following demonstrates this:1) The last media release was published back in June.2) The last “statement of resolutions” (the summary of decisions made by the board)  was also published in June (https://www.wpcc.org.uk/downloads/conservator-minutes/resolutions-10th-june-2019-wpcc-board-for-website.pdf).3) All the papers discussed by the board, and minutes continue to be unpublished.4) The last board meeting was held in July (https://www.wpcc.org.uk/downloads/agendas/agenda-15th-july-2019-web.pdf).5) There has been no statement of resolutions or media release since that date.6) The list of “forthcoming board meetings” giving attendance has not been updated since May 2019 so it is impossible to know in advance when the board meetings will be held. (https://www.wpcc.org.uk/downloads/agendas/record-of-attendance-at-board-meetings-from-april-2018.pdf).Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 2610d20 Comments

Well well.  Is it really three years and still no end in sight for the CC's Inquiry?  Why is it taking them so long?Perhaps they've run out of whitewash Nick.

Sarah Roberts ● 2608d

The Commission are employing the same strategy as the WPCC did, kicking the can down the road and running down the clock.  The Commission's investigation (and I speak as someone who has first hand knowledge of it) is hoping to avoid the facing up to the most gritty of issues.  Lawyers acting for some trustees have submitted evidence to the Commission that they would (very obviously) prefer not have.  Simon Lee and the board lied to the Commission, they lied to levy payers and they lied to trustees. Lying to the Commission (in this context) is a criminal offence.  Legal advisors Bates Wells Braithwaite, when appointed to investigate the undersale of land by the WPCC failed to disclose a material conflict of interest with a trustee, as did the trustee.  The subsequent lawyers, CRS also failed to disclose a material conflict of interest with the same trustee and Simon Lee.  CRS, together with the board then gerrymandered the appointment of Daniel Watney to provide a soft valuation, in order that the board could close the undersale down.  The problem that the Commission have is simple, they have all the evidence of the above, but have been leant on. The local MP's Greening and Hammond, met privately with the Commissions CEO to pressure the Commission to shelve the inquiry and to disqualify me as a trustee.  The Commission are caught between a rock and a hard place.  What to do?  Nothing.

John Cameron ● 2608d

The CC is massively under-resourced.  The number of new cases that require investigation has more than doubled since 2015  to over 2,500 a year, whilst their budget has halved - and will continue to be cut.  Three years is too long, but sadly isn’t unusual - I recently heard of a case relating to potential fraud at a small animal charity that has rumbled into its eighth year.

Craig Fordham ● 2608d

They started their inquiry into the Kids Company in August 2015 and still haven’t released their report.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2608d

on the plus side - Hammond and Greening are rightly now both toast - so the brexit debacle has a silver lining in this respect.  Toast cant lean on the CC any more.

Nick Parker ● 2608d

Amazing how the eight judges of the Supreme Court plus another three can be found within a matter of days yet this interminable case rolls on and on and on.  It's not only our political system that's broken.

Roland Willis Gilmore ● 2608d

I am gagged by the Commission from commenting or even referring to their report, however there is little doubt they have been leant on.  The appointment of a lightweight and inexperienced interim manager was a clue.  The ineffective Commission allowed the WPCC trustees to investigate themselves, aided by compliant and conflicted lawyers.  CEO Simon Lee and the trustees, who failed so deliberately and then lied about it, were allowed to brush their unlawful sale of land under the carpet.The Commission were heavily criticised some 6 years ago in a NAO report which warned that its failure to investigate fraud and abuse was undermining public faith in good causes. At the time Margaret Hodge, Chair of the HoC's public accounts committee described the Charity Commission as not "fit for purpose".Sir Stuart Etherington, CEO of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said the commission had taken a "soft-touch approach" in even the most serious cases. He said: "This report reflects what we have said for years. In order to maintain public trust, charities want a vigilant and effective regulator which takes prompt action in the rare instances of abuse."In the six intervening years, based on my experience, nothing has changed.

John Cameron ● 2607d

I’m afraid the excuse that they are “overworked” doesn’t stretch very far. The WPCC announced at the beginning of the year that the Commission had finished the “investigative phase” of the Inquiry. On the 17 April the CC circulated a draft report to past and present Conservators saying: “Please note that we are asking for any comments on the factual accuracy of the report by 5pm on Wednesday 15 May 2019.”Myself and others (I’m not sure how many) responded. So why has it taken until the 22nd of September (4 months and counting) for them to issue their overdue report? Enquiries should be directed to:Alison BurmistonSenior Investigator: Investigations Monitoring & Enforcement t: 0300 065 2089 | e: alison.burmiston@charitycommission.gov.uk  | w: www.gov.uk/charitycommission

Nicholas Evans ● 2607d

Maybe every 20 page letter from a certain ex conservator repeating all the previous information just adds to the delay. You can bet the April response from him was very long indeed.I'd prefer they used their sparse resources on trying to recover the millions from kids company

Andy Pike ● 2607d

Andy, I don’t think we should have to choose. The Kids Company case is certainly important, but so is the mismanagement and misconduct at our local charity which lost a great deal of money. Wait until you see the report before you blame John for being a whistleblower.Could you email Ms Burmiston and ask why it has taken solong?Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 2607d

@ AndyIt was very long and it was very detailed, with all the evidence of Simon Lee's lies and how trustees and lawyers failed to declare conflicts of interest. It was prepared and submitted by some of the finest legal advisers in the UK. The Commission have the evidence of the deceit, but are "less than keen" to use it. That's the problem.

John Cameron ● 2607d

NickMr Cameron confirms his reply to the CC was very long and prepared by top lawyers. Hence I think the delay in publishing their final report whilst they too check everything with their lawyers..... yawn. At least its not the WPCC having to spend more money on lawyers.I have no problem with whistle blowers but the repetitive shrill of whistling whilst the investigation is ongoing does rather grate.Reading between the lines of both your recent posts would I be right in suggesting that the draft report concludes that errors were made by WPCC But that these errors were /are not actionable against any trustee past or present or any employee of WPCC and that the matter is closed with a caution/severe telling off of those involved.no legal basis for chasing past trustees (dead or alive) for any monies lost by this /these errors and hence the whole thing has been an expensive (particularly for WPCC) exercise in 'tidying the furniture'. Mr Cameron seemingly not getting his public hanging on Putney Lower Common !If that is the general synopsis then we can no doubt expect many more years of repetitive postings on historical matters vis WPCC

Andy Pike ● 2606d

I would like to thank you John and Nick for your hard work on this matter which seems to be surrounded by secrecy and/or great economies to the truth. While your interventions may be tiresome to some, I and many others on this Forum appreciate your perseverance and tenacity.Thank you.

Ivonne Holliday ● 2606d

Andy, I cannot comment on the draft. Wait and see.I don’t think the length of John’s response, or for that matter mine and any others sent to the Commission, is relevant to the delays. It shouldn’t  take four months for the responses to be considered. I believe Ms Burmiston is a qualified lawyer.Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 2606d

I don't doubt that John and Nick have put in a great deal  of hard work in to this case. However Crag has pointed out that the charity commision is desperately understaffed and underresourced so I am inclined t0 agree with Andy. It's a question of priorities. Yes a lot of money was lost and some of the actions were probably shady but no one really suffered personally whereas with Kids' company very vulnerable children were left stranded and unsupported.

Jane Carter ● 2606d

Hello Nick, I recently emailed the CC asking when we might have a conclusion to the inquiry, I received this reply today.Dear Adam,We are unable to provide an exact date for publication of our inquiry reports, however we intend to publish a report on this inquiry this autumn. Reports of previous inquiries are published here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/inquiry-reports-charity-commissionYou can sign up for alerts about our regulatory work here: www.gov.uk/email-signup?link=/government/organisations/charity-commissionKind regards,

Adam Tripp ● 2604d

Adam,Thanks. Yes I had a similar reply. My concern is that they’ve been changing the completion date frequently. Firstly when they were asked when the report would be available, which slipped from mid-2018 to late-2018 and then to early 2019. When they eventually circulated their draft in April 2019 with a condition that comments must be tabled by the 1st of June, I rather thought publication would be imminent. No such thing. They began by saying it would be the “Autumn”, whatever that means. I somehow expect the can-kicking to carry on, with a revised date of “before Christmas” appearing soon. Perhaps Father Christmas will bring it down my chimney.By the way, the Commission makes statements on the results from Statutory Inquiries on average only twenty times a year. So I fail to see why this relatively straightforward Inquiry should have taken so long unless the incompetence of the Commission itself in the time leading up to the Inquiry is the reason.Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 2604d

Alison BurmistonAttachments11:56 (9 minutes ago)to meDear Ms RobertsThe Commission’s inquiry into Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators will, in line with our usual practice,  close on the date that we publish our inquiry report. We are intending to publish the report this Autumn. We are unable to give a precise date at this time. We are in the process of considering a number of detailed responses received on our draft report which was issued on a strictly confidential basis to a number of individuals for comments on its factual accuracy.  The length of a statutory inquiry undertaken by the Commission varies and is dependent on a number of factors as set out in our guidance at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statutory-inquiries-into-charities-guidance-for-charities-cc46 RegardsAlison BurmistonSenior Investigator: Investigations Monitoring & Enforcement t: 0300 065 2089 | e: alison.burmiston@charitycommission.gov.uk  | w: www.gov.uk/charitycommissioncid:image001.jpg@01D1D785.880EF980Follow us on Twitter | @ChtyCommission

Sarah Roberts ● 2596d

As one of the individuals to whom the draft report was issued on a strictly confidential basis I am not surprised that the publication is taking so long. There is no getting away from the interference by Greening and Hammond with the Charity Commission’s CEO, and how their political influence has impacted on the outcome. Simon Lee and the trustees lied to the Commission, to trustees and to levy payers. Bates Wells Braithwaite and Charles Russell Speechlys failed to declare conflicts of interest with Lee and Whitehall appointed trustees. This investigation, when it is published, will starkly expose the Commission and their inabilty to regulate and hold trustees to account. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/dec/04/charity-commission-not-fit-for-purpose-says-hodge?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

John Cameron ● 2595d

Thank you John and Nick.

Sarah Roberts ● 2595d