Press release

Charity Commission opens inquiry into animal rescue charity

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into Four Paws Animal Rescue (South Wales) after it failed to file accounts.

Four Paws Animal Rescue was set up to relieve the suffering of animals, particularly through rehoming, care and treatment. The charity operates in South Wales.

The Commission has been engaging with the charity as part of a ‘double defaulter’ class inquiry, into charities which have failed to file the necessary financial information with the Commission for two or more years in the last five years.

Despite the regulator’s attempts to engage over the past year, including issuing an Order to the trustees to submit the last two financial years’ accounts, the charity’s financial reporting requirements remain outstanding.

The Commission has now opened an inquiry into the charity, which will examine:

  1. The extent to which the trustees are complying with their legal duties in respect of their administration, governance and management of the charity
  2. The extent to which any failings or weaknesses identified in the administration of the charity during the inquiry were a result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees
  3. Failure to comply with their statutory reporting duties including the timely submission of the charity’s annual reports and accounts to the Commission
  4. Failure to comply with an order of the Commission under section 84

The Commission 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 what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were.

Reports of previous inquiries are available on GOV.UK.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

  1. 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.

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Updates to this page

Published 3 November 2022