Inquiry opened into My Community UK charity
The Charity Commission has opened an inquiry into My Community UK to investigate concerns about unmanaged conflicts of interest.
The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into My Community UK (registered charity number 1137137).
The charity is based in Manchester and its objects include ‘to relieve poverty, advance education and promote good health of individuals in need’.
Concerns were raised with the commission in December 2012 that the trustees were failing to properly manage conflicts of interest and that people closely connected to the trustees were obtaining unauthorised private benefits.
The regulator carried out an inspection of the financial books and records of the charity, and met with the trustees twice during 2013. In the course of its compliance case, although the charity did take some corrective steps including adopting a conflicts of interest policy, the Commission became increasingly concerned about the trustees’ continuing inability to properly account for the charitable expenditure of the charity and properly manage conflicts of interest. As a result, a statutory inquiry was opened on 3 February 2014.
The investigation is examining:
- whether the trustees have properly managed conflicts of interest
- the administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees, including its relationships with companies linked to the trustees and the accountability of significant funds that were held in the charity’s bank account
- the circumstances and propriety of payments made by the charity to various connected parties
- whether, and to what extent, there was mismanagement or misconduct on the part of the charity’s trustees
- whether, and to what extent, the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees
It is the commission’s policy, after it has concluded the 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 by the commission are available on its website.
View the charity’s details on the register of charities.
Ends
PR 36/14
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Notes to Editors
- The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales.
- Its mission is to be the independent registrar and regulator of charities in England and Wales, acting in the public’s interest, to ensure that: * charities know what they have to do * the public know what charities do * charities are held to account
- Section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 gives the Charity Commission the power to institute inquiries. The opening of an inquiry gives the Commission access to a range of protective and remedial powers.
- The Commission’s decision to announce the opening of a statutory inquiry is based on whether it is in the public interest to do so and with consideration of our objective to increase public trust and confidence in charities.