Council first to be warned by charity regulator

The Charity Commission has issued its first official warning to a council over charity mismanagement.

Calderdale Council has failed to file annual returns and accounts for all 13 charities it is a trustee of, and these have been overdue for several years, according to the Charity Commission.

The regulator's Tracy Howarth said it had warned the local authority of the risks of noncompliance, as well as providing advice and support.

Council deputy leader Scott Patient admitted it had fallen below expected standards, but said he was “confident the charitable purpose of all the charities was being fulfilled”.

He said: “We acknowledge the official warning from the Charity Commission and are taking this very seriously.

“We accept that our work to file accounts for the charities for which we are trustee should have been better, and the delay does not meet our high service standards."

As trustees, councils are responsible for running the charity and managing its assets, including filing annual returns with the Charity Commission.

The regulator said the failure equated to “misconduct and/or mismanagement” in the administration of the charities.

Ms Howarth, assistant director of regulatory services, said Calderdale "fell below" the expected standard.

"In light of this we have now issued it with an official warning, which is the first time we’ve used this power with any council," she added.

Calderdale is one of more than 1,200 councils across England and Wales which are trustees of charities. It is a trustee of:

• Bacup Road Recreation Ground
• The People’s Park
• Tetley Memorial Park
• Shaw Park
• Public Central Library
• Long Wood
• King George V Playing Field, Brighouse (Hipperholme)
• Henry Whiteley’s Park
• Halifax Open Spaces
• Roils Head Road Recreation Ground
• Shibden Park
• Beacon Hill Recreation Ground
• The Heath Charity

The commission called on the council to file its outstanding accounts, set up processes to ensure compliance, provide up-to-date details and set up a register of all its charities and their assets.

Ms Howarth said: “All trustees have a responsibility to their charities and beneficiaries to ensure their charities are well-managed. This is a duty that is really important when vital community assets are in their care.

“All local authorities who serve as trustees should take note of our advice to ensure they understand what it means to be a trustee.”

The Charity Commission said chief executive David Holdsworth had previously written to all councils warning them of the risks on not complying with their duties as trustees.

Mr Patient said the council was working to correct the filing delays.

He said: “We will learn from this and put procedures in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

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