Charity

More than a quarter of foundations are failing on accountability, transparency and diversity practices, according to new research. Twenty-eight of the 100 foundations assessed for the first Foundation Practice Rating were awarded a D grade overall, the lowest score available. Just three were awarded an A grade. The assessment was carried out by the consultancy

English Heritage is reviewing its partnership with P&O Ferries in light of the company’s actions yesterday, when it sacked 800 staff without notice. The partnership enabled English Heritage members to get discounts on P&O travel services, but the charity told Third Sector it had decided to put the relationship on hold. The company has been

A date has been set for MPs to question the government’s preferred candidate for chair of the Charity Commission. The Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee has confirmed that it will interview Orlando Fraser from 10:45am on Thursday 24 March. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport announced earlier this month that Fraser,

A children’s hospice in Wales is set to receive a reported six-figure sum paid as a settlement to the former private secretary of Diana, Princess of Wales, as part of the fallout from her infamous Panorama interview in 1995. Tŷ Hafan will receive the proceeds of a settlement paid by the BBC to Commander Patrick

The walking charity Ramblers has appointed Ross Maloney as chief executive. He succeeds Vanessa Griffiths, who stepped down in January 2020 after serving in the role for four years. Tanya Curry joined the charity as interim chief executive the following month. Maloney will join Ramblers from the Scouts, where he is deputy chief executive and

Oxfam GB has updated records relating to a fifth former member of staff after an investigation into sexual misconduct, bullying and other claims in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The charity said last year that an external investigation had led to three members of staff being sacked and a fourth person would have faced dismissal

Camelot is set to lose the licence to run the National Lottery after nearly three decades. The company said it was “incredibly disappointed” after the Gambling Commission announced the Czech-based company Allwyn Entertainment as its preferred candidate to run the lottery from 2024. Allwyn already operates lottery competitions in the Czech Republic, Austria, Greece and

The Charities Aid Foundation has announced a list of more than 100 organisations that will receive a share of £20m of government funds to help them weather the coronavirus pandemic. The funds are the second phase of the £40m Resilience Fund, which has already given out £19.2m to 645 organisations to help them through the

A former chair of the Charity Commission has criticised the government for lacking urgency in appointing one of his successors. William Shawcross, who was chair of the regulator between October 2012 and January 2018 but is now the Commissioner for Public Appointments, made the comments in his report into the failed appointment of Martin Thomas

The Charity Commission is unaware of any legal action against its investigators conducting its inquiry into the Professional Footballers’ Association Charity despite weekend media reports, Third Sector understands. An article published by the Mail on Sunday newspaper yesterday claimed that four trustees at the PFAC, which is the charitable arm of the professional footballers’ union,

The government is inviting charities to help deliver nearly £400m in funding for youth services over the next three years. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport said any charity interested in partnering on the second phase of the Youth Investment Fund would need to apply by the end of the month. YIF 2

The Labour Party has named a former charity consultant as its shadow civil society minister, filling a vacancy that has been open for three months. Barbara Keeley MP, who represents Worsley and Eccles South, said charities had a role in creating “a better, more prosperous Britain”. She will cover both civil society and arts policy.

Income stabilised last year at the charity behind the Which? brand, 12 months on from suffering a major fall. Total income at the Consumers’ Association was down slightly in the year to June 2021, while spending rose by about £1m, according to accounts filed with Companies House yesterday. The association had a surplus of £4.2m

The Charity Commission has been asked to undertake additional due diligence relating to charities connected to its proposed new chair, Third Sector understands. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport this week announced the commercial barrister Orlando Fraser as its preferred candidate to be the next chair of the regulator. It came after the

Frontline staff at one of the UK’s biggest care charities are to receive a second pay increase in six months. Community Integrated Care announced that salaries for its support workers would next month rise to £10 an hour in England and £11 an hour in Scotland. The rise is expected to affect about 5,000 members

Barnardo’s has appointed one of its joint interim chief executives to the permanent role. Lynn Perry, who has been at the charity for 13 years, has been its corporate director for children’s services since 2019 and took up the top job on a permanent basis yesterday. She has been co-interim chief executive of the charity

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has named Sarah Vibert as its permanent chief executive. Vibert, who has been the membership body’s interim chief executive for the past year, promised that the NCVO would be a “generous, collaborative leader in the sector and beyond”. The NCVO said more than 200 people applied for the position

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

The Charity Commission has criticised three former trustees of an educational charity after the husband of the charity’s founder was given money to pay for hairdressing appointments, concerts and weekend trips away. The regulator has published a report into its inquiry into Hope House School, which runs a small independent school near Newark, Nottinghamshire, for

Income at WWF-UK grew by about 4 per cent last year, from £80.8m to £84.4m, new figures show. The charity also spent £82m in the year to June 2021, up from £78m, according to its latest annual accounts, which were filed with Companies House today. The additional income was driven by a rise in corporate

Three former trustees of a charitable school have been disqualified for a total of 32 years after the Charity Commission found “repeated and significant failings” at the charity. The regulator said in a inquiry report that trustees of the now-defunct Albayan Education Foundation, which ran the former Birmingham Muslim School and provided aid to people

Charities are being urged to avoid sending blanket emails to politicians and look to focus on one-to-one meetings and events instead, according to a new report. A Shared Interest, published today by the Law Family Commission on Civil Society, a two-year initiative launched by Pro Bono Economics in December 2020 to examine how the potential

The Chelsea FC owner, Roman Abramovich, has said he will sell the club and use the net proceeds to set up a charitable foundation to support people affected by the war in Ukraine. Chris Bryant, the Labour MP for Rhondda, used parliamentary privilege last week to call in the House of Commons for Abramovich’s assets

Measures in the Elections Bill will undermine charities’ ability to campaign and increase the regulatory burden upon them, peers have heard. In a debate about the legislation in the House of Lords, several peers expressed concerns that the legislation would negatively affect charities’ campaigning activities. The Elections Bill, which covers matters relating to the running

The Charity Commission has joined the Fundraising Regulator in warning charities to be careful about where they accept donations from in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Gerald Oppenheim, chief executive of the Fundraising Regulator, warned yesterday that charities should be “extra vigilant” about accepting donations connected to Russia. A statement today from Helen

The military charity Royal British Legion Industries has appointed Lisa Farmer as its chief executive. She will become the first woman to lead the charity in its more than 100-year history, when its outgoing chief executive, Steve Sherry, retires after 12 years in post. Farmer joined the RBLI as its director of strategic development in

Charities need to be “extra vigilant” about accepting donations connected to Russia, the chief executive of the Fundraising Regulator has said. Speaking at a virtual event hosted by the regulator to launch its annual report, Gerald Oppenheim said charities should refer to the Code of Fundraising Practice and to Charity Commission guidance if they were

The Charity Commission has contacted the Chelsea FC Foundation after Roman Abramovich announced he was passing control of Chelsea Football Club to the charity. Abramovich, who has owned the club since 2003, said in a statement over the weekend that he was giving “stewardship” of it to the trustees of the Chelsea FC Foundation. His

Unicef UK has raised more than £1m in four days to support children affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In a statement to Third Sector, the charity said it was “extremely grateful for the amazing response from the public in just four days since the appeal went live”. The charity said it had been

The charity formed by the merger of Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation has rebranded as Asthma + Lung UK. The merged charity, which was created in January 2020, said its new logo was “representative of the coming together of the two former lung charities to create one organisation fighting for people’s right to