Tag Archives: Governmental

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Press release: New charity investigation: Beth Yosef Foundation

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Beth Yosef Foundation, registered charity number 1071268. The inquiry was opened on 21 December 2016.

The charity has objects to advance the Jewish Religion, in particular as practised by Sephardi Jews. The charity was identified by the Commission for a compliance visit, as its objects suggested it might be operating in high risk areas and it had failed to submit annual returns to the Commission since February 2012. The Commission met with a trustee of the charity in November 2016.

The visit identified a number of serious regulatory concerns relating to the administration and financial management of the charity by the trustees. The Commission’s concerns include a failure by the trustees to submit their annual returns, whether the charity has any validly appointed trustees, loan agreements entered into by the charity and the sale of property owned by the charity.

The inquiry will examine:

  • whether the trustees are properly appointed and whether decisions made by current trustees regarding the administration and management of the charity have been validly made, in particular in relation to the disposal of charity property
  • whether any potential conflicts of interest have been identified and correctly managed by the trustees
  • the financial management of the charity and application of charitable funds, in particular relating to rental income received from a property owned by the charity and how rental income has been applied
  • whether or not the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees under charity law
  • whether there has been any misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees

The Commission stresses that opening an inquiry is not in itself a finding of wrong doing.

The purpose of an inquiry to examine issues in detail and investigate and establish the facts so that the regulator can ascertain whether there has been misconduct and mismanagement; establish the extent of the risk to the charity’s property, beneficiaries or work; decide what action needs to be taken to resolve the serious concerns, if necessary using its investigative, protective and remedial powers to do so.

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.

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PR 04/17

Notes to editors

  1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.
  2. Search for charities on our online register.
  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. 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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HM Government • • •

News story: CMA updates competition law risk short guide

An updated risk guide for senior managers, directors and their advisers on how to avoid breaking competition law.

The guide was developed as a joint project with the Institute of Risk Management (IRM) and follows the first case of a director being disqualified after their company broke competition law.

In December 2016, a managing director of an online poster supplier gave an undertaking not to act as a director of any UK company for 5 years after their company was found to have been part of an online price-fixing cartel.

Alongside the updated risk guide the CMA has also published a one-page 60-second summary looking specifically at director disqualification with advice for company directors.

David Currie, CMA Chairman, said:

I am delighted that we are working with the IRM again to put the spotlight on the significant risks companies and their directors face if they don’t play by fair rules in business. Company directors have a special responsibility to be well-informed about their company practices and have a critical role to play in ensuring a business complies with the law.

In light of this I want to see anti-competitive behaviour taken as seriously by UK businesses and boards as the risks around bribery, fraud, health and safety and cyber crime.

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HM Government • • •

BCC comments on public sector finances for December 2016

Commenting on the public sector finances for December 2016, released today by the Office for National Statistics, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“The continued, albeit modest, monthly declines in public sector borrowing are encouraging and mean that the government remains on course to meet the OBR’s forecast for 2016/17, as set out in the Autumn Statement.

“The UK’s fiscal position, which was weakened significantly by the financial crisis, is likely to come under increasing pressure in the near-term if UK economic growth weakens as expected. A slowing economy would further restrict the UK’s capacity to collect enough tax revenue to consistently achieve deficit reduction in the coming years.

“More needs to be done to boost business confidence, to help firms to deliver the sort of growth, investment and job creation needed to achieve a sustainable strengthening of the UK’s tax base.”

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Notes to editors:

 The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) sits at the heart of a powerful network of 52 Accredited Chambers of Commerce across the UK, representing thousands of businesses of all sizes and within all sectors. Our Global Business Network connects exporters with nearly 40 markets around the world. For more information, visit: www.britishchambers.org.uk

Media contacts:

Allan Williams – Senior Press Manager

020 7654 5812 / 07920583381

Orla Hennessy – Press and Communications Officer

020 7654 5813 / 07825746812

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British Chambers of Commerce • •

The Government has today been forced by the Supreme Court to accept the sovereignty of Parliament – Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, responding to this morning’s judgment from the Supreme Court that Parliament must give its approval to trigger the process of leaving the EU, said:

“The Government has today been forced by the Supreme Court to accept the sovereignty of Parliament.

“Labour respects the result of the referendum and the will of the British people and will not frustrate the process for invoking Article 50. 

“However, Labour will seek to amend the Article 50 Bill to prevent the Conservatives using Brexit to turn Britain into a bargain basement tax haven off the coast of Europe.

“Labour is demanding a plan from the Government to ensure it is accountable to Parliament throughout the negotiations and a meaningful vote to ensure the final deal is given Parliamentary approval.“

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Labour • • •

Press release: Supreme Court ruling on Article 50: statement

A statement was issued following the ruling today (24 January 2017).

A government spokesperson said:

The British people voted to leave the EU, and the government will deliver on their verdict – triggering Article 50, as planned, by the end of March. Today’s ruling does nothing to change that.

It’s important to remember that Parliament backed the referendum by a margin of 6 to 1 and has already indicated its support for getting on with the process of exit to the timetable we have set out.

We respect the Supreme Court’s decision, and will set out our next steps to Parliament shortly.

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HM Government • • •