Charity News Alert
Commission sets up new system for handling whistleblowing
Tania Mason
Auditors and other professional advisers that wish to report potential problems within charities will soon be able to do so via a dedicated email address that channels complaints directly to a new complaints handling unit within the Charity Commission.
The service is part of a new system for handling whistleblowing that the Commission is to roll out in spring 2008 following a successful pilot this year.
The Commission admits that until now there has been no “clear, unified policy for the allocation of whistleblowing and complaints work”, and Commission staff had low awareness of the statutory requirements relating to whistleblowing.
In a report outlining the new system, presented at its open board meeting in November, the Commission said: “There is a need to manage complainants as part of an overall case strategy focused on risk, rather than allowing them to manage us.”
From next spring, all whistleblowing and complaints will be received by a new specialist complaints-handling unit based within Charity Commission Direct.
All complaints sent by professional auditors and independent examiners – classed as ‘statutory whistleblowers’ – as part of their duty to report concerns, will be passed directly to the Commission’s compliance and support team for assessment.
All others will be assessed by the complaints-handling unit against certain criteria and either dealt with there, or, if medium or high risk, passed on to other staff.
The pilot undertaken by the Commission this year centred on complaints about large charities, which comprise a “significant proportion” of the complaints received by the Commission. The results of the pilot suggested that about half of all complaints could be considered low risk.
The complaints handling unit will also collect statistical data on complaints, to establish trends in the sector on issues such as poor service, employment, and fundraising.
The Commission will publish guidance on the new system in the spring and will carry out public relations work and parliamentary briefings to alert charities, their advisers and others to it.
