Charity Commission opens inquiry into addiction recovery charity
The regulator has opened an inquiry into New Wineskins Charitable Trust, which operates under its working name of U-Turn Recovery Project.
The Charity Commission has opened an inquiry into New Wineskins Charitable Trust, a London-based charity which operates under the working name U-Turn Recovery Project. The charity offers a residential treatment programme for men recovering from drug and alcohol addictions.
The inquiry was opened on 16 May 2023 as a result of serious regulatory concerns regarding the charity’s failure to submit its accounts and Trustees’ Annual Reports (‘TAR’).
In July 2022, the regulator placed the charity into a double defaulter class inquiry in which charities in default of their legal duty to file their annual reports, accounts, and returns for two or more years in the last five years are investigated. The charity had failed to submit its annual accounts, annual returns and TAR for the financial years ending 31 March 2020 and 2021.
During the double defaulter class inquiry the charity submitted the outstanding accounting information on 12 December 2022, however, the accounts did not meet all the accounting requirements. The charity then defaulted again and is currently in default of its filing requirements for the financial year ending 31 March 2022.
The Commission’s inquiry will examine the following regulatory issues:
- The extent to which the trustees have and are complying with their legal duties around the administration, governance, and management of the charity, particularly the management of the charity’s finances and the charity’s compliance with its statutory reporting obligations.
- The extent to which any failing or weaknesses in the administration, governance and management of the charity identified during the inquiry were the result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees.
The regulator may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.
It is the Commission’s policy to publish a report upon concluding an inquiry to detail its findings, conclusions, and any regulatory action taken.
Notes to 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 inquiry was opened on 16 May 2023, under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011.
- The latest set of charity accounts held in Commission records are for the financial year ending 31 March 2021. The charity’s last reported income and expenditure is £245,569.00 & £247,932.00 respectively.
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