The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into The Jack Raine Community Foundation, registered charity number 1106701. The inquiry was opened on 29 March 2017.
The charity has objects to promote community participation and recreation, in particular coaching in contact and non-contact martial arts, and education.
Concerns regarding the charity’s financial controls were raised with the Commission after it was alerted by North Yorkshire Police that a financial investigation was being conducted into the charity. As a result, the Commission made an unannounced visit to the charity’s premises in November 2016 to inspect the charity’s books and records. The Commission found insufficient financial records and no evidence of trustee meeting minutes to reflect any decisions taken by the trustee board.
The Commission has established further serious regulatory concerns which has escalated its engagement to an inquiry.
The inquiry will examine:
- whether the financial management of the charity is adequate, including whether appropriate financial controls are in place, and if funds were expended in furtherance of the charity’s objects
- the general administration, governance and management of the charity
- whether the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees under charity law
In order to protect the assets of the charity, the Commission has taken steps to freeze the charity’s bank accounts under section 76(3)(d) of the Charities Act 2011.
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.
The charity’s details can be viewed on the Commission’s online charity search tool.
Ends
PR 39/17
Notes to editors
- The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.
- Search for charities on our online register.
- 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.
- The Commission’s decision to announce the opening of a statutory inquiry is based on whether it is in the public interest to do so and with consideration of our objective to increase public trust and confidence in charities.
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