governance Press
Below are recent news stories which relate to Governance issues in the third sector.
Charities meet public benefit requirements by increasing subsidies
By Vibeka Mair, Civil Society, 8 Jul 2010
Topics: Public benefit Two public schools and a nursing home have met Charity Commission public benefit requirements by providing services to those who cannot afford it.
St Anselm’s School Trust, Highfield Priory School and Penlyan House, Jewish Retirement and Nursing Home had initially failed the Commission’s criteria for public benefit when they were assessed in July of last year.
The charities were given 12 months to come up with a plan.
The plans for the two schools used a mix of new or additional bursary assistance financed by fundraising, together with the educational benefits they provide in the local community.
The Commission has also agreed that the trustees of Penylan House, Jewish Retirement and Nursing Home have developed a clear strategy for providing and publicising the assistance it offers to those who could not otherwise afford to use its services.
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Carnegie UK Trust report calls for a bolder role for civil society
By Fay Schopen, Third Sector Online, 12 March 2010
Making Good Society says the sector can help foster responsibility and decentralise power.
Voluntary sector organisations must position themselves at the heart of society if the aim of a more equitable social environment is to be achieved, a major inquiry into the future of the sector has concluded.
The independent Commission of Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society, funded by the Carnegie UK Trust, was set up in 2006 to consider the future of civil society until 2025. It covers the role of charities, trade unions and faith groups, as well as informal groups such as campaigns and networks.
Its report, Making Good Society, published this week, tackles subjects ranging from the economic crisis to climate change and the decentralisation of power at every level of society.
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Heritage trust to be struck off the Scottish charity register
By Paul Jump , Third Sector Online, 04 September 2009
Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator says Largo Trust provides no public benefit. A Fife charity set up to restore a historical mansion will be removed from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator’s register because it does not provide any public benefit. The Largo Trust was registered as a charity in June 2008 with the objectives of advancing heritage and education by buying and restoring Largo House and estate, which has been derelict for almost 60 years.
However, in October the OSCR began receiving complaints from creditors of the charity that had not been paid. Local press reports claimed the creditors included East Fife Football Club, which signed a £50,000 sponsorship deal with the charity in 2007.
The OSCR inquiry discovered that the charity had failed to acquire Largo House or a historical tower in its grounds. It also found that the charity had only one trustee, for whom it had no contact details. The charity’s constitution states it must have at least five trustees to be quorum.
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Call for Shonaig Macpherson to stand down immediately
By Kaye Wiggins, Third Sector Online, 04 September 2009
Pressure group says the National Trust for Scotland's chair must leave her post now.
A group of members of the National Trust for Scotland has called for the charity's chair to resign immediately and for its board of trustees to stand for re-election.
The group, called In Trust for Scotland, represents more than 2,500 members of the charity.
It has also called for a caretaker chair to be appointed to lead widespread reforms of the charity's governance, including its management systems and reporting structure, in order to make the organisation more transparent.
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Charity Commission inquiry uncovers multiple failings at Islamic charity
By Paul Jump, Third Sector Online, 17 August 2009
Regulator gives Tariqa Burhaniya D'Suqiyya Shazuliyya nine months to review its governance.
The Charity Commission has criticised an Islamic charity for a string of failings, including misusing restricted funds, submitting inaccurate financial information and giving its trustees unauthorised interest-free loans.
Tariqa Burhaniya D'Suqiyya Shazuliyya runs a mosque for the Sufi Muslim community in south-west London. It receives all its income from donations from its members.
A whistleblower warned the commission in May 2008 that the financial information its trustees had submitted in its 2006/07 annual update form was inaccurate.
According to the form, the charity's income and expenditure were both exactly £7,500. But the commission opened a statutory inquiry in August 2008 after discovering a deposit and a cash withdrawal of £10,000 in the charity's bank statements for the period. The inquiry discovered further significant credits and debits in the charity's savings account that increased its balance by more than £40,000.
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