Major charity membership bodies and the shadow culture secretary have raised questions about the party political links of the government’s choice of candidate for the next chair of the Charity Commission.
The membership bodies Acevo and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations said they were concerned about the links to the Conservative Party of the barrister Orlando Fraser, who was announced yesterday by culture secretary Nadine Dorries as the government’s preferred candidate for the role.
Meanwhile Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary, said the appointment process had been a “total shambles” that has resulted in “the Tories looking after their own”.
Fraser, who was on the commission board between 2013 and 2017, stood unsuccessfully for the Tories at the 2005 general election and was a founding fellow of the former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith’s think tank the Centre for Social Justice. Fraser’s late father also spent 39 years as a Conservative MP.
Acevo and the NCVO said in a joint statement: “While Mr Fraser has extensive experience of regulation and charities, we are concerned about his party-political links.”
Fraser, whose appointment remains subject to confirmation by the government following a hearing before MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee, is being lined up as the replacement for Martin Thomas, who pulled out of the role before taking up the position.
It would appear that the government decided against restarting the appointment process, which had been called for by organisations including Acevo and the NCVO.
The umbrella bodies said: “We previously called for the process to be restarted and are disappointed that this approach was not followed.
“After a much-delayed and challenging recruitment process, the sector needed to be reassured that the next chair was selected through a robust and transparent process, with appropriate due diligence carried out.
“We hope that the pre-appointment scrutiny hearing will provide clarity and reassurance on these key areas.”
Sarah Vibert, chief executive of the NCVO, said Fraser would bring “significant experience of both charities and regulation”.
But she said: “There will understandably be concern about his links with party politics, even though he has not been politically active recently.
“With Acevo, we set out the importance of having a politically independent chair, and are disappointed that the government has not taken this opportunity to appoint a person with full political independence. This should be an area of scrutiny during the pre-appointment hearing.”
Vicky Browning, chief executive of Acevo, said: “We are disappointed that the appointment process was not rerun in full before Mr Fraser was announced as preferred candidate.
“Transparent and robust recruitment is vital in ensuring trust in the regulator. Given the challenges of the previous recruitment process, this approach would have allowed the new chair a fresh start, and an opportunity to rebuild a strong relationship with the sector as well as address issues around the diversity of the shortlist and new due diligence commitments.”
Powell said: “The appointments process for the new chair of the Charity Commission has been a total shambles even by the standards of this government.
“The chair of the Charity Commission is an important post, and the public must have confidence that this role is independent, not party political, and that there is no conflict of interest in investigations the commission carries out.
“Instead this is another case of the Tories looking after their own. The Conservatives’ record of cronyism in public appointments stinks.”
Dan Corry, chief executive of the think tank NPC, said: “This is a vitally important role and we look forward to hearing more from Orlando Fraser on how he wants to approach it.
“The Charity Commission could be an important driver of impact across the sector, by making better use of its data and toughening up reporting requirements.
“Such change demands leadership, which is why finding the right person to chair the regulator really matters.”
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport did not provide a comment before publication of this article.