HL Deb 04 December 1996 vol 576 cc56-7WA
Lord Cocks of Hartcliffe

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the number of staff employed by the Charity Commission; and

What were the estimated Charity Commission budgets for the years 1991 to 1996 and what was the actual expenditure for those years; and

How many complaints of abuse of charitable status are currently under investigation by the Charity Commission; and what is the average turnaround time for the completion of an investigation; and

What percentage of the total Charity Commission staff are involved in investigating complaints; and

How many Charity Commission staff engaged in investigative work are (a) full time and (b) part time; and

What penalties have been imposed on charities found to be in breach of their obligations by the Charity Commission.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of National Heritage (Lord Inglewood):

As at 30th October, 577 staff were employed by the Charity Commission. Of these, 46 (approximately 8 per cent.) are directly engaged in investigative work, four of them on a part time basis. They are supported where appropriate by six lawyers and six accountants in addition to support services which provide support in all aspects of the Commission's work.

Budget estimates and actual expenditure for the financial years 1991–92 to 1995–96 are shown in the table below.

1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97
Estimate £19.622k £20.688k £22.889k £25.224k £23.689k £22.594k
Actual £19.555k £20.640k £21.941k £24.472k £22.622k N/A

The Commission is not empowered to impose penalties on charities, but exercises a wide range of remedial powers for the protection of charity property from abuse or maladministration, whether deliberate or unintentional. These include orders for the removal and replacement of charity trustees, the freezing of charity bank or building society accounts and the production of documents and information. Where appropriate the Commission may also appoint a receiver manager to run a charity while an investigation is taking place. In some instances the charity's trustees may be asked to make good any losses incurred by the charity as a result of mismanagement or abuse.