The Commission opened a statutory inquiry into the Darren Wright Foundation on 29 November 2017. As part of its inquiry, the Commission served direction orders on two former trustees requiring them to provide information and documents about the charity to the Commission to assist the inquiry. The former trustees failed to comply with the Commission’s order.
The Commission then brought legal proceedings against the former trustees. An order of the Commission carries the same weight as a court order and failure to comply may be regarded as contempt of court. If found guilty those in contempt face criminal penalties which include a custodial sentence of up to two years.
In this case, the High Court judge, Mr Justice Morgan, (hearing the case in the absence of the former trustees who failed to attend) decided that the former trustees had indeed failed to comply with most of the Commission’s directions and considered that it was appropriate for the case to proceed in their absence. However, a decision on sentencing the former trustees was adjourned to a later hearing to give them a final opportunity to comply with the Commission’s directions. Nevertheless, the judge made clear the seriousness of the offence and confirmed the court’s power to issue a warrant for the former trustees’ arrest should they fail to attend the further hearing.
This is the first time the Commission has pursued a case of this type through the courts and the decision to do so, combined with other recent examples of the Commission pursuing legal actions of other types, further supports the view that the Commission is exercising an increasingly aggressive approach to its regulatory and enforcement role. Accordingly, trustees of charities that are under any form of investigation by the Commission would seem to be well advised to fully comply with requests from the Commission for information. However, this does not mean that on occasions it will not also be appropriate to enter into robust correspondence with the Commission to defend the position of the charity and its trustees.
For advice in relation to correspondence with the Commission on any matter, contact Phil Watts.
We have submitted our response to the White Paper Consultation based on the discussion held at the “Planning for the Future - what does this mean for affordable housing” webinar we held on Fri 9 Oct
Anthony Collins Solicitors is pleased to have been ranked as a Band 1 firm once again.
Since March 2020, commercial property owners and occupiers across many sectors, whether housing associations, charities, care providers or local authorities, have been impacted by the rules regulating how they deal with their tenants and their landlords. It seems each week there is a change in policy, regulation or legislation, governing how they must respond.
A key element of the Bill is the establishment of a duty holder regime and requirement to maintain the ‘golden thread of information’ throughout the life cycle of high-risk residential buildings
We have been working with care homes to update their contracts and advise on the risks of charging the resident a regular “top-up” or additional fee where a resident is funded through NHS CHC
The parliamentary processes are complete and the Restriction of Public Exit Payments Regulations 2020 (“the Regulations”) which cap exit payments in the public sector at £95,000 will be in force from 4 November.
As the UK’s social housing sector recovers from the initial Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown, now is the time to focus on the challenges that may emerge next.
There is no universal approach to regenerating town centres. However, housing must be considered a key part of any regeneration project – providing well-needed new homes and economic growth.
Friday 16 October marks the 6th annual Wear Red Day in England, Wales and Scotland. Wear Red Day is the brainchild of the charity; Show Racism the Red Card (SRTRC). SRTRC aims to educate young people so they are equipped to recognise and challenge stereotypes, misconceptions and negative attitudes towards race.
Alongside the Building Safety Bill published in July 2020, the Fire Safety Bill is a key step in the Government’s strategy to improve building and fire safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy
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