Commission urges charities to comply
The chief charity commissioner has urged charities to comply with their legal obligations following the naming and shaming more charities that persistently fail to submit accounts.
The charities are Bais Yakov Institutions (Gur) Bnei Brak, Barnhill Community Association, St Mary’s Chorus and Stockwell & Clapham Law Centre.
Charities with a gross income or total expenditure exceeding £10,000 are required by law to supply standard annual returns, a trustees’ annual report and their accounts within ten months of the financial year end.
John Stoker, chief charity commissioner, said: ‘Providing returns and accounts is compulsory by law for charities with an income above £10,000 and essential to accountability. This is the second stage of a rolling programme of action against persistent defaulters.
‘They may in the future find themselves subject to further publicity, a formal Commission Inquiry, or to prosecution.’
The policy to name and shame was continued this month following the success of February’s decision to name and shame eight charities that had failed to comply. After the Commission published the charities’ names on its website, six submitted their accounts within a month, but two remain outstanding.
The matter concerning the charities, Lansdowne House Alcohol Advisory Unit and Friends of Horim Establishments Tel Aviv & Arad Limited, has now been forwarded to the Metropolitan Police.
Links
For further details on the charities or the Charity Commission’s work visit www.charity-commission.gov.uk