Regulator investigates spiritualist charity as disputing trustees and finances spark serious concerns
The Charity Commission has opened an inquiry into Trust Property Held In Connection With The London Spiritual Mission.
The charity regulator for England and Wales has opened an inquiry into a charity that supports the London Spiritual Mission as disputing trustees have been unwilling or unable to work together to address serious regulatory concerns.
Trust Property Held In Connection With The London Spiritual Mission is a charity that was established in 1945 to hold and maintain property for the London Spiritual Mission.
The regulator’s engagement with the charity uncovered several regulatory concerns including a lack of financial controls, failing to identify or manage conflicts of interest and paying connected parties for renovation services.
The Charity Commission is investigating the charity’s trustees’ compliance with the Commission’s decision-making guidance, having identified that significant decisions relating to property renovations may have been made by one trustee without full consultation of the trustee board. This includes decisions to pay connected parties for renovation services and spending double the agreed budget. The guidance sets out principles to ensure all trustees act in the best interests of their charity.
All trustees are responsible for ensuring their charity’s money is safe, properly used and accounted for. The inquiry will examine whether all trustees have had sufficient oversight of the charity’s funds. Through its engagement, the regulator discovered that the charity does not hold a financial controls policy. The inquiry will examine this as a lack of sufficient financial controls is potentially putting the charity’s funds at risk.
The charity also filed its 2019 annual accounts 184 days late and has failed to submit any for the last three years. The regulator understands these have not been submitted as a result of the ongoing dispute between trustees meaning that they could not agree on final versions.
The inquiry will examine the following regulatory issues:
- The trustees’ compliance with their legal duties in respect of the administration, governance and management of the charity, with particular regard to the management of the charity’s finances and their compliance with accounting and reporting responsibilities.
- If the trustees have appropriately identified and managed conflicts of interest.
- If there has been any misconduct and / or mismanagement in the administration of the charity by the trustees.
The Charity Commission is not a mediation service or to be used as an intermediary between disputing trustees. The Commission’s role in this inquiry focuses on the charity’s trustees’ conduct and compliance with their legal duties.
The regulator 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 the issues examined, any action taken, and the inquiry’s outcomes.
Notes for Editors
- The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.
- The Charity Commission opened the statutory inquiry into the London Spiritual Mission under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 on 7th December 2023.
- Our guidance on financial controls can be found via this link: Internal financial controls for charities - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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