The Charity Commission
Redrafted version follows the regulator's new risk framework and the implications of new legislation
The Charity Commission has published an updated version of its guidance for reporting serious incidents.
The regulator said the guidance, which covers how charities should report incidents such as fraud, theft or risks to charity independence, had been updated to take into account the commission’s new risk framework and the implications of new legislation, including the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.
A commission spokeswoman said that, although the guidance had been redrafted, the changes had not altered the guidelines’ existing principles.
The commission's latest annual report, which was released last month, showed that the number of serious incidents being reported to the commission increased by more than 20 per cent in 2011/12 to 1,027 reports, compared with 849 in the previous reporting period.
The guidance says that trustees at charities with annual incomes of more than £25,000 are required to sign a declaration within the organisation's annual return confirming that no serious incidents have taken place during the previous financial year.
If trustees fail to make the declaration, they fall foul of their statutory requirements under section 169 of the Charities Act 2011, while those supplying false or misleading information are committing an offence under section 60 of the same act, it says.
