Charity leaders are facing a sense that they are “on trial just for doing their job”, the chief executive of the Charity Commission has warned.
Speaking at an event for charity trustees in London today, Helen Stephenson said there was a risk that charity leaders are facing “disproportionately intense, unpleasant, and sometimes unfair personal scrutiny – often from both within their charities and externally”.
She said charity leaders should not be spared questions about the decisions they make but said she was worried that what they face “can stretch beyond legitimate scrutiny”.
Stephenson said she was worried that potential charity leaders could be put off “because they are not prepared to bare their lives to the harsh light of unrelenting scrutiny”.
She said: “Leading a large charity is never going to be easy. It involves overseeing complex, sensitive work supporting the most disadvantaged people in our society or operating in challenging environments around the world.
“But what is putting people off is not the work, responsibility or the relatively modest pay. It’s the sense that they are on trial, just for doing their job.”
Stephenson, who was reflecting on her seven years as chief executive of the regulator as she prepares to step down at the end of July, also said she had concerns about “expectation creep” around the commission’s work.
“Growing expectations that we serve not just as regulator, but as a charity ombudsman, able to offer some kind of remedy for those who feel that they have not had the service from a charity that they might have expected,” she said.
“Or as an inspectorate that visits every charity on a regular basis, auditing its processes and impact.
“Neither of these expectations is realistic or manageable under the current framework, and this worries me.”
Stephenson said that over the coming years, the commission would have to work hard to explain its role in terms of what it can and cannot do.
“I hope that we will have the sector’s support in this task,” she said. “Because make no mistake – any other regulatory model than the one operated by the commission now would likely mean burdensome oversight and red tape for charities.”