The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into J.E.L.A Foundation (1137349). The inquiry was opened on 14 January 2018.

The London-based charity has objects to improve the lives of people particularly, but not exclusively, living in Haiti and those of Haitian descent residing in the UK through the advancement of education and training and the promotion of good health.

Following scrutiny of the charity’s financial accounts, the Commission found a number of irregularities which raised serious concerns. After obtaining bank statements under section 52 of the Charities Act 2011, the Commission identified a discrepancy in excess of £200,000 between what was declared in the charity’s annual returns for the last five years, and the bank transactions carried out during the same period.

In addition the Commission found repeated payments, several times a month over a number of years to a charity trustee, and also identified a pattern of donation payments totalling over £700,000 from individuals to the charity, including two trustees and a potentially connected party. This raises concern that there may have been misapplication of charity funds and possible personal benefit.

In order to protect the charity’s assets, the Commission issued an order under section 76(3)(d) of the Charities Act restricting the charity’s access to its bank accounts and prohibited three major online fundraising platforms used by the charity from parting with funds without prior approval from the Commission. The Commission issued an additional order under section 76(3)(f) of the Charities Act preventing trustees from undertaking further fundraising with alternative online platforms until further notice.

The Commission is also concerned that there are insufficient trustees to be compliant with the charity’s rules of governance; only four individuals are listed in the accounts, whilst the charity’s governing document requires a minimum of five trustees.

The inquiry will therefore examine whether:

• the charity has been operating for exclusively charitable purposes for the public benefit in furtherance of its charitable objects;
• the financial controls of the charity are adequate and its funds have been properly expended and can be accounted for;
• the trustees have complied with legal duties in respect of their administration, governance and management of the charity;
• the trustees compliance with legal obligations for the content and preparation of the charity’s accounts and other information or returns is in line with the statutory requirements;
• the trustees may have knowingly or recklessly provided the Commission with information which is false or misleading.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. The Charity Commission is the regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work see the about us page on GOV.UK.
2. Search for charities on our check charity tool.
3. Section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 gives the Commission the power to institute inquiries. The opening of an inquiry gives the Commission access to a range of investigative, protective and remedial legal powers.
4. Section 76(3)(d) of the Charities Act 2011 gives the Commission the power to order any person who holds any property on behalf of a charity, or of any trustee for a charity, not to part with property without the approval of the Commission.
5. Section 76(3)(f) of the Act give the Commission the power to restrict the transactions which may be entered into in the administration of a charity without the approval of the Commission.

Significant irregularities in charity’s accounts prompts investigation into J.E.L.A Foundation

The Committee on Standards in Public Life has today published its report on local government ethical standards.

The Committee on Standards in Public Life today published its report and recommendations on ethical standards in local government, following a year-long review and wide consultation. Key recommendations include:

• a new power for local authorities to suspend councillors without allowances for up to six months
• revised rules on declaring interests, gifts and hospitality
• local authorities retain ownership of their own Codes of Conduct
• a right of appeal for suspended councillors to the Local Government Ombudsman
• a strengthened role for the Independent Person
• greater transparency about the number and nature of Code complaints.

Launching the report, Lord Evans, Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said:

“Local government impacts the lives of citizens every day, providing front-line services to those it serves. Its decisions directly affect the quality of life of local people. High standards of conduct in local government are needed to demonstrate that those decisions are taken in the public interest and to maintain the public’s confidence.

“The evidence we received supports the view that the vast majority of councillors and officers maintain high standards of conduct. There is, however, clear evidence of misconduct by some councillors. Most of these cases relate to bullying or harassment, or other disruptive behaviour. There is also evidence of persistent or repeated misconduct by a minority of councillors. “We are also concerned about a risk to standards under the current arrangements, as a result of the current rules around declaring interests, gifts and hospitality, and the increased complexity of local government decision-making.”

“We believe that the benefits of devolved arrangements should be retained, but that more robust safeguards are needed to strengthen a locally determined system. We are also clear that all local authorities need to develop and maintain an organisational culture which is supportive of high ethical standards. A system which is solely punitive is not desirable or effective; but, in an environment with limited external regulation, councils need the appropriate mechanisms in place to address problems when they arise.

“Our recommendations would enable councillors to be held to account effectively and would enhance the fairness and transparency of the standards process. Introducing a power of suspension and a model code of conduct will enable councillors to be held to account for the most serious or repeated breaches and support officers to address such behaviour, including in parish councils. Strengthening the role of the Independent Person and introducing a right of appeal for suspended councillors will enhance the impartiality and fairness of the process, which is vital to ensure that councillors are protected from malicious or unfounded complaints. And greater transparency on how complaints are assessed and decided in a system which is currently too reliant on internal political party discipline will provide a safeguard against opaque decision-making and provide reassurance to the public.

“Finally, I would like to thank all those who responded to our consultation or gave us their time and contributions to help build the evidence base for this report. It is clear to us that local government in England has the willingness and capacity to uphold the highest standards of conduct; our recommendations and best practice will enable them to do so.”

Download report here.

Download evidence here.

Notes to Editors

1. Interview requests and media enquiries should go to Maggie O’Boyle on 07880 740627.
2. The independent Committee on Standards in Public Life advises the Prime Minister on ethical standards across the whole of public life in the UK. It monitors and reports on issues relating to the standards of conduct of all public office holders. To find out more about the Committee’s work click here.
3. The current members of the Committee are: Lord (Jonathan) Evans, Chairman, Rt Hon Dame Margaret Beckett DBE MP (Labour), Simon Hart MP (Conservative), Dr Jane Martin CBE, Dame Shirley Pearce DBE, Jane Ramsey, Monisha Shah and Rt Hon Lord (Andrew) Stunell OBE (Liberal Democrat).
4. The Committee has had a long-standing interest in local government, which was the subject of its third report, in 1997, and which it has considered on a number of occasions since then. Since it last reviewed standards arrangements in local government, the Committee has maintained a watching brief. This review was not prompted, however, by any specific allegations of misconduct or council failure, but rather to review the effectiveness of the current arrangements for standards in local government, particularly in light of the changes made by the Localism Act 2011.
5. The review covered all local authorities in England, of which there are 353 principal authorities, with 18,111 councillors in 2013, and an estimated 10,000 parish councils in England, with around 80,000 parish councillors. The Committee did not take evidence relating to Combined Authorities, metro mayors, or the Mayor of London and so do not address these areas of local government in this report.
6. The Committee’s remit does not extend to the devolved administrations of the UK, and so this review does not cover local government standards outside England, although it has considered the role, remit, and work of the standards bodies in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland for comparative purposes.
7. You can follow the Committee on twitter @PublicStandards.

The first further education providers to teach T Levels are set to benefit from a £38 million funding boost to help build new classrooms, refurbish buildings and upgrade their equipment in readiness to deliver the new qualifications from September 2020.

The T Level Capital Fund was announced by the Chancellor in the 2018 Budget. It is designed to make sure young people taking the new technical courses have access to industry standard equipment and high quality facilities so they gain the skills and knowledge employers demand.

T Levels will be the technical equivalent to A Levels, combining classroom theory, practical learning and an industry placement. The first T Level courses in education, construction and digital will be taught by over 50 further education and post-16 providers from September 2020.

The T Level Capital Fund will be delivered in two parts. From today (Thursday 30 January), eligible further education providers are being invited to bid for funding to refurbish their existing buildings or to build new spaces. Funding for specialist equipment such as digital and audio visual kit, will be allocated to all providers in spring 2020.

Apprenticeships and Skills Minster, Anne Milton said:

T Levels are a once in a generation opportunity to transform technical education in this country. They will give young people the opportunity to gain the skills they need to get a great job, go on to do a higher level apprenticeship or further study.

It will be vital that they have access to the latest, high quality equipment and state-of the art facilities during their studies. The T Level Capital Fund will help those further education providers at the forefront of delivering these important reforms to be ready to teach T Levels from September 2020.

To support the further education sector to deliver the new T Level programmes, the government will provide an additional half a billion pounds every year once they are all fully rolled out.

The government is also investing £20 million to help prepare the sector for the introduction of T Levels. This includes the £5 million Taking Teaching Further programme, which aims to attract more industry experts to work in the sector, and the £8 million T Level Professional Development offer to help teachers and staff prepare for the roll-out of the new qualifications.

In December 2018, the government announced the next 7 T Levels to be taught from 2021 as: Health; Healthcare Science; Science; Onsite Construction; Building Services Engineering; Digital Support and Services; and Digital Business Services.