Recommendation 24

We strongly believe that lessons can be learned from the way Mr Murray’s and Ms Hall’s cases were handled. We are mindful that responsibility for scrutinising the work and performance of the Charity Commission lies with our colleagues on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee. We will be writing to the Committee Chair, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, to highlight our work on these special reports and the gaps in the Commission’s powers, as well as the broader regulatory gaps, particularly around safeguarding. We urge the Government to engage constructively with both the Commission and the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee on how such gaps might be addressed. We welcome the Government’s recognition of the high bar for trustee disqualification, and its new consultation on the extension of the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse. This is a positive first step. However, if the Government is to consult further, for example, around the Commission’s ability to shut down charities, we recommend a consultation with a wider focus, and which has safeguarding at its heart. The consultation should also seek to make an assessment of whether the Commission is making the most effective use of its current powers. A wider review is long overdue, and it is now pressing if the Charity Commission is to maintain both public and parliamentary confidence. (Recommendation, Paragraph 130) 77